After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and countless performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a world where nobody misses a mark.
