How 'Showgirl Glamour' Emerged as the Dazzling Look of 2025
Following a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount 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 an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and numerous performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.