After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also reference classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. 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.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute 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 reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a realm where no one misses a mark.
