After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A King of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
She says this figure are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and countless performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal 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 make-believe, perfection and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
