After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and 149 performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like 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 stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a universe where no one falters.
