Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage 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 named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price 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 retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and countless shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
