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After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.

A Master of Glitz

Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”

A Mainstream Revival

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from the Past

These artists and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

A Coveted Classic Style

For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount 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 collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.

“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”

A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City

The expert says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.

An Appeal of Escape

Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Swift references in a recent docuseries that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and countless shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”

Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a world where no one falters.