After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Master of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, 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 glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled 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 concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a recent documentary series that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and countless concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a universe where no one falters.
