After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The King of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount 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 classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody misses a mark.
