After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A King of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor 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. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and countless shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one falters.
