Why 'Showgirl Glamour' Emerged as the Dazzling Look of 2025
Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against overstated 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 – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
She says showgirls are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody falters.
