After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously 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 popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
She says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and countless shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered 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 lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a universe where no one misses a mark.
