Following a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
She says this figure are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and 149 performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.
