Why 'Showgirl' Became the Dazzling Look of the New Year
After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also reference historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 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 head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a world where no one makes a mistake.
