After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star 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 classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the identity 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-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
