How 'Showgirl' Became the Dazzling Style of 2025

After a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.

The Master of Glitz

Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”

A Pop Culture Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from History

These artists and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”

A Highly Sought-After Retro Look

For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed 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 collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.

“This style bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”

A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas

Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.

The Appeal of Escape

Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea the singer alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.

The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”

Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a world where nobody misses a mark.