After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A King of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to 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 crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored 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 similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a world where nobody falters.
