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Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.

The King of Sparkle

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”

The Musical Revival

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from History

These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

The Coveted Vintage Look

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”

A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas

She says showgirls are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.

An Allure of Illusion

Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.

Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.