Why 'Showgirl' Became the Glittering Style of This Year
After a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A King of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. 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 even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled 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 favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something the singer references in a new docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and numerous performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage 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 performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a universe where nobody falters.