Why 'Showgirl' Emerged as the Dazzling Aesthetic of 2025
Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift hints at in a new docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
