Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer 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, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea the singer alludes to in a new documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and countless shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
