How 'Showgirl' Emerged as the Glittering Look of the New Year

Following a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.

The King of Glitz

Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

A Musical Comeback

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from Tradition

These artists and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.

But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

The Highly Sought-After Classic Style

For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”

A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City

She says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.

The Appeal of Escape

Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something the singer hints at in a latest documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.

She describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a world where no one falters.