How 'Showgirl' Emerged as the Glittering Aesthetic of This Year

Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.

The Master of Sequins

Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé 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 looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”

A Musical Revival

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.

Drawing from Tradition

Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference classic performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

A Highly Sought-After Classic Style

For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined 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 undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City

Chung says showgirls are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.

An Allure of Transformation

The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

The performer explains her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform 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 rest before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”

Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.