After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price 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 collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea the singer hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and numerous performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
