Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also reference classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says this figure are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and countless performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a world where nobody misses a mark.
