🔗 Share this article Why 'Showgirl Glamour' Became the Dazzling Style of 2025 Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”. Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival. A Master of Sparkle Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200. “I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.” A Musical Resurgence It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl. Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans. Drawing from Tradition Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend. But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.” The Highly Sought-After Retro Style For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer 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 past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.” More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says. An Allure of Transformation Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer hints at in a new documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours. Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.” It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.