How 'Showgirl Glamour' Became the Dazzling Aesthetic of 2025
Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist 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 new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 90s pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and 149 performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
