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After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.

The Master of Sequins

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”

The Pop Culture Revival

It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from Tradition

These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.

But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”

A Coveted Vintage Style

For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, 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, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.

“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”

A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas

The expert says showgirls are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.

An Appeal of Transformation

Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Swift references in a new documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and 149 performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where nobody misses a mark.