Kylie Minogue kicked off the glamorous world tour aptly named Showgirl with a tribute to Lido dancers. And John Galliano wasn't the only big name to lend his talent to the show. Karl Lagerfeld and Julien McDonald also created costumes for The Ultimate Showgirl.

Perhaps the most spectacular contribution was the huge feathered head-dress supplied by the Lido cabaret in Paris. However, the most eagerly anticipated garment was the designer corset, made by the famous Mr. Pearl from London, which reduced Kylie's waist to an eye-popping 16 inches.

The show represents Kylie's finest moments in music, performance and style and is homage to the showgirl.

Like Kylie's 2002 Fever tour, Showgirl pushes the technological boundaries, using innovative technology in video, lighting and sound. With its $2-million Art Deco stage, the show is so huge that it needs well over 100 people to get it on the road. The stage is believed to be the biggest ever built for an arena tour and features five hydraulic lifts within its construction.

The Showgirl Tour will be traveling across Britain and Europe before heading to Australia and the Far East before ending with a headline appearance at the Glastonbury Festival on June 26.

The tour, the biggest and most ambitious of Kylie's career, is a celebration of her 17 years at the top of the charts, according to Kylie Minogue.

"This is my way of saying thank you and of sharing some of the most important moments of my journey so far," she said. "It's been so much fun putting the show together. It has taken just under a year to design and build, but it has been a lifetime in the making," said Kylie Minogue in a media release.

Sources: Hello Magazine, news agencies. 

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