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Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.

A Master of Glitz

Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”

The Mainstream Revival

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from Tradition

Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”

A Coveted Retro Look

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount 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.

“This style evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas

Chung says showgirls are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.

An Appeal of Transformation

The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.

She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”

Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.