How 'Showgirl Glamour' Emerged as the Glittering Look of the New Year

Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.

A Sultan of Sparkle

Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”

A Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from History

Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.

But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”

A Coveted Retro Look

For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.

“This style inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas

The expert says this figure are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.

An Allure of Illusion

Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She explains her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”

Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.