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Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.

The Sultan of Sequins

Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”

The Mainstream Revival

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from History

These artists and other chart toppers also draw on classic performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.

But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”

The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style

For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”

A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas

The expert says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.

An Allure of Illusion

Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Swift references in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and countless performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.