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After a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.

A Master of Glitz

Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”

A Mainstream Resurgence

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.

But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”

A Coveted Classic Look

For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer 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 hit among vintage enthusiasts.

“This style bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas

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

The Allure of Transformation

The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift references in a recent documentary series that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”

Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.