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Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.

The Master of Glitz

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”

A Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.

Drawing from Tradition

These artists and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing 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 former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”

A Coveted Retro Look

For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount 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 hit among collectors.

“This style bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”

More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City

Chung says the showgirl image 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. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.

The Allure of Escape

Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift references in a new documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.

Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”

Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a universe where nobody misses a mark.