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After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.

The King of Glitz

Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”

A Musical Revival

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from History

Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.

But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”

A Highly Sought-After Classic Look

For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”

More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City

Chung says showgirls are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.

The Allure of Transformation

Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and numerous shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.

The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.