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Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.

The King of Sparkle

Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”

The Musical Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from History

These artists and other successful musicians also reference classic performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.

But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”

The Coveted Vintage Style

For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage 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 star wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed 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 collectors.

“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”

More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas

She says this figure are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.

The Allure of Illusion

Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and countless shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a world where no one misses a mark.