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After a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.

A Sultan of Glitz

Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”

The Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from History

Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.

But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”

A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style

For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously 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 popular item among fashion collectors.

“This style inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas

Chung says showgirls are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.

An Allure of Escape

The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and 149 shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a world where no one makes a mistake.