Following a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and 149 shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a world where no one makes a mistake.
