Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
