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After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.

A King of Sequins

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” 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 designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”

A Musical Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from Tradition

These artists and other hitmakers also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”

The Highly Sought-After Retro Style

For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.

“This style evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”

More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas

Chung says this figure are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.

An Allure of Transformation

The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and countless concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.

Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her 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 moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where nobody misses a mark.