How 'Showgirl' Became the Glittering Look of the New Year
After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due 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 latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and millennial 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 actress wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
