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After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.

A Sultan of Sequins

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”

A Musical Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.

Drawing from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.

But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. 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 Coveted Vintage Style

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.

“This style bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas

Chung says this figure are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.

An Allure of Transformation

Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and countless shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”

Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a world where no one falters.