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Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.

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

The Sultan of Sparkle

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”

The Mainstream Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.

Drawing from Tradition

Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”

The Coveted Classic Look

For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.

“This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

More Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas

Chung says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.

An Allure of Transformation

Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

Hardy describes her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”

Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a universe where no one misses a mark.