Following a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift references in a recent docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and countless shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
