🔗 Share this article Why 'Showgirl Glamour' Emerged as the Sparkling Look of 2025 After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”. Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback. A King of Glitz Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted 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 were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.” A Mainstream Revival It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl. The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans. Drawing from History These artists and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them. But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.” A Highly Sought-After Classic Look For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of 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, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors. “This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.” A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas Chung says this figure are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based 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 lasting symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says. The Allure of Escape Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours. She explains her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.” Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.