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After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.

The King of Glitz

Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”

The Pop Culture Resurgence

It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from the Past

Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”

A Coveted Vintage Style

For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.

“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”

More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City

The expert says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.

An Appeal of Illusion

The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and numerous shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She explains her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”

It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a world where nobody misses a mark.