Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Master of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something the singer hints at in a latest documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and numerous performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.
