Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series 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 bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says this figure are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea the singer alludes to in a recent docuseries that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody falters.
