How 'Showgirl' Transformed into the Glittering Look of 2025

After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.

A Master of Sequins

Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering 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 new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”

The Pop Culture Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from the Past

Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.

But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”

The Highly Sought-After Retro Look

For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.

“This style evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”

More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas

The expert says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

An Allure of Escape

The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift references in a new documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and numerous shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.

She describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.