After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. 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 apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a new documentary series that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
