How 'Showgirl' Became the Glittering Aesthetic of This Year
Following a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, 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, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something the singer references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
