How 'Showgirl' Emerged as the Glittering Look of the New Year
After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a realm where no one falters.