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After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.

A Master of Glitz

Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”

A Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from History

Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

The Highly Sought-After Retro Style

For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”

A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas

Chung says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.

An Appeal of Escape

Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”

Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a world where no one falters.