How 'Showgirl Glamour' Transformed into the Glittering Aesthetic of the New Year

After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.

A Sultan of Glitz

Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”

A Pop Culture Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from Tradition

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.

But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”

A Highly Sought-After Retro Style

For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.

“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”

More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas

The expert says this figure are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.

The Allure of Transformation

Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.

The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”

Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a realm where nobody falters.