After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
