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

After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.

A King of Sequins

Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”

A Pop Culture Resurgence

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from Tradition

Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.

But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”

A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style

For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.

“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas

She says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.

An Allure of Escape

Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something the singer references in a new docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.

Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps 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 moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one misses a mark.