How 'Showgirl Glamour' Transformed into the Sparkling Look of 2025

After a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.

The Sultan of Glitz

Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”

A Pop Culture Revival

It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.

Pulling from History

Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.

But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

A Coveted Retro Style

For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”

More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas

The expert says this figure are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.

The Appeal of Transformation

Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and 149 performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.