After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, 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, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s pop style of crop 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 one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed 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 undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a realm where no one misses a mark.
