Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and numerous shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a realm where no one falters.
