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After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.

The Master of Sparkle

Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

The Musical Resurgence

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.

But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

The Highly Sought-After Retro Look

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.

“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”

More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas

The expert says showgirls are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.

An Appeal of Escape

Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea Swift references in a latest docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and numerous shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.

The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.