Why 'Showgirl' Transformed into the Sparkling Look of 2025

After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.

A King of Sequins

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”

A Musical Revival

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.

But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”

The Coveted Vintage Look

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.

“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”

A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City

Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.

The Allure of Escape

Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift references in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.

The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”

Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a realm where no one misses a mark.