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Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.

A Master of Sparkle

Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”

A Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from History

These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.

But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”

The Coveted Vintage Style

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”

More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas

The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.

An Appeal of Escape

Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea the singer references in a recent documentary series that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.

Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”

Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a world where no one makes a mistake.