How 'Showgirl Glamour' Transformed into the Sparkling Look of the New Year

Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.

A Master of Glitz

Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

A Mainstream Resurgence

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from the Past

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.

But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”

The Highly Sought-After Classic Style

For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously 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 favorite among vintage enthusiasts.

“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City

She says this figure are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.

The Appeal of Escape

The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea the singer alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”

Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.