Why 'Showgirl Glamour' Emerged as the Dazzling Look of This Year

After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

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

The King of Sequins

Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”

The Musical Revival

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

She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to a style publication 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.

Drawing from Tradition

Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”

The Highly Sought-After Classic Look

For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”

More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City

She says showgirls are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.

An Allure of Transformation

Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a world where no one misses a mark.