How 'Showgirl' Became the Glittering Look of the New Year
After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.