Following a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
She says showgirls are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a recent documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and countless shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
