🔗 Share this article Why 'Showgirl Glamour' Transformed into the Glittering Aesthetic of the New Year Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”. Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival. The Master of Sequins Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200. “I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.” A Musical Comeback It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl. Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories. Pulling from the Past Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend. But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.” A Highly Sought-After Retro Style For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors. “The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.” More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas The expert says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says. The Appeal of Transformation Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and countless concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours. Hardy explains her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and magical.” Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.