How 'Showgirl' Became the Dazzling Look of 2025
Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya 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 designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and 149 shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
