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Following a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.

The Master of Glitz

Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

The Musical Resurgence

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”

The Coveted Retro Look

For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.

“This style bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”

More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas

Chung says this figure are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.

An Appeal of Escape

Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and numerous shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.

She describes her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.