Following a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also reference classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. 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 embodied fantasy, idealism and a realm where nobody falters.
