Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
