After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show 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 grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert 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 mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and countless performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a realm where no one falters.
