Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.
