🔗 Share this article How 'Showgirl Glamour' Transformed into the Glittering Look of 2025 Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”. Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back. The King of Glitz Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200. “I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.” The Pop Culture Comeback 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. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl. The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories. Pulling from Tradition Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier. But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.” The Coveted Classic Style For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer 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 fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors. “The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.” A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City She says showgirls are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says. The Appeal of Illusion The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea the singer references in a recent documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours. The performer describes her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.” It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a world where no one falters.