Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Style
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 see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one falters.
