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After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.

A Sultan of Sparkle

Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more appealing 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 glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”

The Musical Comeback

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from the Past

Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”

A Coveted Vintage Look

For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress made 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 undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.

“This style bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”

A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City

The expert says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.

An Appeal of Transformation

Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.

The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”

Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.