How 'Showgirl' Became the Sparkling Style of 2025
Following a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing 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 glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert 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, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked 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, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and 149 performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
