After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the late-century pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a new documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and countless shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
