Why 'Showgirl' Became the Sparkling Look of This Year
After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price 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 trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
She says this figure are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and 149 performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry 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 entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.
