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Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.

The Master of Sparkle

Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”

The Mainstream Resurgence

It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from Tradition

Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”

The Coveted Vintage Style

For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made 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 previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”

A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas

The expert says this figure are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

The Allure of Transformation

The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and 149 performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.

Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”

Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.