How 'Showgirl' Became the Sparkling Look of the New Year
Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.