Why 'Showgirl' Became the Dazzling Aesthetic of This Year
Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, 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 estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance 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 grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made 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 at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a recent docuseries that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.