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Following a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.

A Master of Sequins

Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

A Pop Culture Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from the Past

Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.

But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

The Coveted Retro Style

For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount 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 collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.

“This style inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”

More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City

The expert says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

The Allure of Transformation

The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and countless shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.

Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear 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 entrance so I could recover before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”

Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.