How 'Showgirl' Emerged as the Sparkling Style of This Year
Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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 vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and countless shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
