Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The King of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich 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.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined 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 significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously 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 fashion collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says showgirls are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although 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 lasting symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
