After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer 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, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea the singer alludes to in a new docuseries that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and countless performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
