After a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded 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 collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
