How 'Showgirl' Became the Dazzling Look of 2025
Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift references in a recent docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion 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 green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a realm where no one misses a mark.