Why 'Showgirl' Became the Dazzling Look of This Year

Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.

The Master of Glitz

Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”

The Pop Culture Comeback

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from Tradition

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.

But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”

A Coveted Classic Look

For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, 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, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.

“This style inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”

A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas

She says showgirls are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.

The Allure of Illusion

Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer hints at in a new documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.

The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos 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 backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.