How 'Showgirl' Became the Dazzling Look of 2025

After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.

The Master of Glitz

Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”

The Pop Culture Resurgence

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from Tradition

These artists and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”

A Coveted Classic Style

For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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 popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas

Chung says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.

An Allure of Escape

Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.

She describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”

Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a realm where no one misses a mark.