After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference historical performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made 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, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.
