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Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

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

A Sultan of Glitz

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”

A Pop Culture Resurgence

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”

A Highly Sought-After Classic Look

For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.

“This style evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”

More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas

The expert says showgirls are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.

An Appeal of Escape

Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and 149 shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a world where nobody makes a mistake.