After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and countless shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
