How 'Showgirl' Transformed into the Glittering Look of This Year

Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.

A Master of Glitz

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”

A Musical Comeback

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from History

Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”

A Coveted Classic Style

For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.

“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City

The expert says showgirls are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.

The Allure of Escape

Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer hints at in a latest documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.

Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a realm where no one makes a mistake.