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After a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.

The King of Sequins

Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”

A Musical Comeback

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from Tradition

These artists and other successful musicians also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.

But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”

A Coveted Retro Style

For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.

“This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”

More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas

Chung says showgirls are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.

The Appeal of Illusion

Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and 149 shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.

She explains her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a world where no one makes a mistake.