How 'Showgirl' Emerged as the Sparkling Style of the New Year

Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.

A Master of Glitz

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, 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 media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”

The Pop Culture Comeback

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director 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 feathered fans.

Drawing from the Past

Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”

A Coveted Retro Look

For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus 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, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.

“This style bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas

The expert says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.

An Appeal of Escape

Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and 149 performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.

Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.