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After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

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

A Master of Sequins

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”

The Musical Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from Tradition

These artists and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”

The Coveted Vintage Style

For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”

More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas

The expert says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.

The Appeal of Illusion

The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and 149 performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.

Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody misses a mark.