Why 'Showgirl' Transformed into the Dazzling Style of the New Year

After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

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

A King of Sequins

Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”

A Pop Culture Resurgence

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.

Pulling from the Past

Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.

But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

A Coveted Classic Look

For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.

“This style evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City

Chung says showgirls are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.

The Appeal of Illusion

Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and countless concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.

Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”

Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a world where no one makes a mistake.