🔗 Share this article How 'Showgirl' Became the Dazzling Look of 2025 After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical 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 back. A Sultan of Glitz Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200. “In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.” A Musical Revival It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl. She has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans. Pulling from Tradition These artists and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend. But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.” A Coveted Classic Look For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors. “This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.” A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas The expert says this figure are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says. The Appeal of Illusion The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a new documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours. The performer explains her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.” Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.