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After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.

A Master of Sequins

Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”

A Musical Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, 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, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director 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 1950s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.

Pulling from the Past

Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.

But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

The Coveted Classic Style

For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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 favorite among fashion collectors.

“This style evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”

A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City

Chung says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

The Appeal of Escape

Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and countless performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.

The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”

Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where no one makes a mistake.