After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé 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 seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and numerous performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one falters.
