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Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.

The King of Sequins

Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”

A Pop Culture Resurgence

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.

Drawing from Tradition

These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”

A Coveted Vintage Style

For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously 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 hit among fashion collectors.

“This style bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”

More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas

She says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.

An Allure of Transformation

The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.

The performer recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a world where nobody makes a mistake.