How 'Showgirl' Became the Dazzling Style of 2025
After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, 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 trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled 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 younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making 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 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage 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 called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus 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 retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.
