How 'Showgirl' Became the Sparkling Look of the New Year
After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl 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 documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and numerous performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.