🔗 Share this article How 'Showgirl' Became the Dazzling Aesthetic of This Year After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”. Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback. The King of Sparkle Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200. “I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.” A Mainstream Resurgence It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl. She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories. Pulling from the Past These artists and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier. But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.” A Coveted Vintage Look For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors. “This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.” More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas She says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says. The Allure of Transformation Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a latest docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours. She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.” It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.