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Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

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

The Master of Sequins

Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”

The Pop Culture Resurgence

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from Tradition

Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.

But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”

A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look

For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus 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 retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”

More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas

Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.

The Appeal of Escape

Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.

Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”

It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.