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Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

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

A King of Sparkle

Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

A Musical Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from the Past

These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”

A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look

For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus 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, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”

More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas

The expert says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.

The Appeal of Transformation

Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and countless performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.

The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear 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 performed. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.