Why 'Showgirl Glamour' Became the Sparkling Aesthetic of the New Year
After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a new documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and countless performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a universe where nobody falters.
