Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Master of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a world where nobody falters.
