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Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.

The Sultan of Sequins

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”

The Musical Resurgence

It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from the Past

Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.

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

A Highly Sought-After Classic Look

For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas

Chung says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.

An Allure of Illusion

Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and 149 performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.

She describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.