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After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.

A Master of Glitz

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”

A Mainstream Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from Tradition

Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”

The Highly Sought-After Classic Style

For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer 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 trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City

Chung says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.

The Appeal of Transformation

Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a new docuseries that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.

The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”

Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.