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After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

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

A King of Glitz

Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

A Pop Culture Comeback

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from the Past

Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”

A Coveted Classic Style

For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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 hit among fashion collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”

A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas

She says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.

The Appeal of Illusion

The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift references in a recent docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.

Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”

Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a world where nobody makes a mistake.