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Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.

A Sultan of Sequins

Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”

The Pop Culture Resurgence

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”

The Coveted Classic Look

For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City

She says showgirls are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” she says.

The Allure of Illusion

Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.

She describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”

It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a world where no one makes a mistake.