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After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.

The Sultan of Sparkle

Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”

The Pop Culture Comeback

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from Tradition

These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.

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

The Coveted Vintage Look

For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously 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 hit among collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”

A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas

The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.

An Allure of Transformation

The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.

Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.