After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed 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 grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed 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.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea the singer references in a recent documentary series that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where no one falters.
