After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer hints at in a recent docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a world where nobody falters.
