After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic 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 titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on historical performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to 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 previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift references in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and numerous performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
