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After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.

A Master of Sparkle

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert 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 were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”

The Pop Culture Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from the Past

Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”

The Coveted Vintage Look

For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.

“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”

A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas

Chung says showgirls are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.

An Appeal of Escape

Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and countless concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.

She describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”

Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.