After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference historical performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star 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 classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
