Following a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer 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, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and 149 shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a realm where no one misses a mark.
