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Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.

A Master of Sequins

Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”

The Musical Resurgence

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.

Pulling from Tradition

These artists and other hitmakers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”

A Coveted Classic Style

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”

More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas

The expert says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.

The Appeal of Escape

The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and numerous shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.

Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one falters.