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Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

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

The King of Glitz

Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”

The Musical Revival

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.

Pulling from History

Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”

The Coveted Classic Look

For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress 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 inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City

Chung says showgirls are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.

The Appeal of Escape

Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and countless shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.

The performer explains her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a world where no one makes a mistake.