Why 'Showgirl' Emerged as the Sparkling Style of 2025
After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Master of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. 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 even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and 149 shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one misses a mark.