How 'Showgirl' Became the Glittering Look of This Year
Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea the singer hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.
