After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. 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, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and countless shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a world where no one falters.
