How 'Showgirl Glamour' Became the Glittering Look of This Year
Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer 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 vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
She says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift references in a new docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
