Why 'Showgirl Glamour' Became the Glittering Look of 2025
After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price 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 series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
She says this figure are integral to the imagery of 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 traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift references in a recent docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
