Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer 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, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a universe where no one falters.
