After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer 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, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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 popular item among collectors.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a latest documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a world where nobody misses a mark.
