Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The King of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time 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 seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously 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 collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says this figure are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and countless performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a realm where no one misses a mark.
