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Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.

A Sultan of Sequins

Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”

The Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from Tradition

These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.

But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”

The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style

For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.

“This style evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”

More Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas

She says this figure are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.

The Appeal of Illusion

Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She describes her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support 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 entrance so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody falters.