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After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical critics 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.

A Master of Sparkle

Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”

A Pop Culture Resurgence

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from Tradition

Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

The Coveted Classic Style

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress made 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 private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas

The expert says this figure are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.

The Allure of Illusion

Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Swift references in a recent docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and numerous shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.

Hardy explains her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one misses a mark.