Why 'Showgirl' Emerged as the Glittering Look of 2025
Following a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Master of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by 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 bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. 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 featured as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea the singer alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.
