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Following a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.

The Sultan of Sequins

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring 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.”

The Pop Culture Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage 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 titled The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from History

Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”

The Coveted Retro Look

For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.

“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”

More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas

Chung says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.

The Allure of Escape

Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where nobody misses a mark.