How 'Showgirl' Became the Glittering Style of This Year
Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For younger and modern 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 star wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus 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, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer references in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion 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 platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
