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After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

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

The King of Sequins

Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”

A Musical Resurgence

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from Tradition

Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference classic performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.

But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”

The Highly Sought-After Classic Look

For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.

“This style evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”

More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas

She says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.

An Allure of Escape

Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and numerous performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.

Hardy explains her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where no one falters.