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After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.

The King of Sequins

Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”

A Musical Revival

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.

Pulling from the Past

These artists and other chart toppers also reference classic performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s 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 even today's icons.”

A Coveted Retro Look

For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished 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 significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 collectors.

“This style bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”

More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas

She says this figure are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.

The Appeal of Transformation

Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She explains her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.