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Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.

The Master of Sequins

Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”

A Musical Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from the Past

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

A Coveted Retro Look

For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, 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, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.

“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”

More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City

The expert says showgirls are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.

The Appeal of Transformation

The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and countless performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.

She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a world where no one falters.