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After a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

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

A Sultan of Sequins

Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

The Pop Culture Revival

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.

Drawing from the Past

Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.

But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. 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 seemingly Taylor Swift.”

A Highly Sought-After Classic Style

For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.

“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City

The expert says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.

The Allure of Escape

Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.

Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.