After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed 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 seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and 149 shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody falters.
