After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the late-century pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a new docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and 149 performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
