After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously 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 collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
