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After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.

The King of Glitz

Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”

A Mainstream Revival

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 cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from History

These artists and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.

But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”

The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style

For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously 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.

“Showgirls evoke fond memories 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’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”

A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas

The expert says this figure are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

The Allure of Escape

Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”

Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.