Why 'Showgirl' Emerged as the Sparkling Aesthetic of 2025
After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Master of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title 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 Vintage Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled 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 popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and countless shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a universe where no one falters.