Why 'Showgirl' Became the Dazzling Aesthetic of the New Year
After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical 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 mid-century, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term including 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 vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
She says showgirls are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer hints at in a recent documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and countless performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.
