How 'Showgirl' Became the Sparkling Aesthetic of This Year
After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says showgirls are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea the singer references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon 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 stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
