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Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

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

The King of Sequins

Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”

The Musical Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, 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 sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from the Past

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference historical performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.

But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”

The Highly Sought-After Retro Style

For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”

More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas

The expert says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.

An Allure of Transformation

Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer hints at in a latest docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps 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 performed. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”

Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one makes a mistake.