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After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.

A King of Sequins

Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”

A Pop Culture Resurgence

It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.

Pulling from Tradition

Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.

But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”

A Coveted Classic Style

For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”

More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas

The expert says this figure are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.

The Allure of Escape

Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift references in a latest docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”

Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.