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After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.

The Master of Sequins

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”

A Musical Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.

Drawing from History

These artists and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”

The Coveted Retro Style

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.

“This style bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”

More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City

She says showgirls are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.

An Allure of Transformation

Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”

Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a realm where no one falters.