After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
She says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a latest documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and 149 shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a world where no one falters.
