How 'Showgirl' Emerged as the Dazzling Style of This Year
Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The King of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Swift hints at in a new documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and 149 shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.