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Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.

The Master of Sequins

Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”

The Musical Resurgence

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, 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, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from Tradition

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”

A Highly Sought-After Retro Look

For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star 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 trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.

“This style inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”

More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas

She says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.

An Appeal of Transformation

Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She describes her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”

Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a world where nobody makes a mistake.