After a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer hints at in a recent documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
