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After a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

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

The Master of Glitz

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”

The Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from the Past

Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”

The Highly Sought-After Retro Look

For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.

“This style evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas

She says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.

The Allure of Escape

The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.

She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a world where no one misses a mark.