🔗 Share this article Why 'Showgirl Glamour' Transformed into the Glittering Aesthetic of This Year After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”. Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back. The Master of Glitz Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200. “I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.” The Pop Culture Resurgence It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl. Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories. Drawing from the Past These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier. But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.” The Highly Sought-After Classic Look For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress 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. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors. “Showgirls inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.” A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City Chung says this figure are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says. The Appeal of Transformation Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours. She explains her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.” Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody falters.