After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed 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 stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Swift hints at in a new documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion 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 backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody falters.
