How 'Showgirl' Emerged as the Glittering Look of the New Year
After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and countless shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody falters.
