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After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

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

The Sultan of Sparkle

Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”

The Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.

Drawing from Tradition

Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on historical performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”

The Coveted Vintage Style

For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created 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, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the history 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 glitter but without the nudity.”

More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas

Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.

An Appeal of Transformation

Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and 149 shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.

Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area 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’re working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one misses a mark.