🔗 Share this article Why 'Showgirl' Became the Glittering Aesthetic of 2025 After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”. Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback. The Master of Sparkle Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé 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 knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.” The Pop Culture Revival It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl. She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans. Pulling from the Past Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend. But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.” The Coveted Retro Style For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts. “The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.” More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says. The Allure of Illusion Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and countless shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours. She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.” Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.