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Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.

The Sultan of Glitz

Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

The Mainstream Revival

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from History

Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”

The Highly Sought-After Retro Look

For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas

She says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.

An Appeal of Illusion

Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and countless performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.

The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.