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Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.

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

A Master of Sparkle

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”

The Musical Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.

Drawing from History

Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.

But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”

A Coveted Classic Style

For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”

More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas

Chung says this figure are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.

The Appeal of Escape

Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Swift hints at in a new documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and 149 performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.

Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase 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 made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.