How 'Showgirl Glamour' Transformed into the Glittering Style of 2025

After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.

A Master of Glitz

Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”

A Mainstream Resurgence

It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.

Drawing from the Past

These artists and other chart toppers also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.

But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”

The Coveted Vintage Style

For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.

“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”

More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas

The expert says showgirls are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

The Allure of Illusion

Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.

She explains her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. 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 creating this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.