🔗 Share this article How 'Showgirl' Emerged as the Sparkling Aesthetic of This Year After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”. Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival. A Master of Sequins Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200. “I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.” The Mainstream Revival It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl. Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans. Pulling from History Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them. 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 “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.” The Coveted Classic Look For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts. “This style bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.” A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says. An Allure of Escape Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours. She describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.” Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a realm where nobody falters.