Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded 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 vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Swift references in a latest docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one falters.
