Why 'Showgirl' Became the Sparkling Aesthetic of This Year
Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a realm where no one falters.
