Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Master of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum 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 series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a latest docuseries that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
