After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created 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 grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea the singer references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one makes a mistake.
