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After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

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

A Sultan of Glitz

Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”

The Pop Culture Resurgence

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from the Past

These artists and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.

But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”

The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded 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 popular item among collectors.

“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”

A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas

Chung says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.

The Allure of Escape

Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Swift references in a latest docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and countless shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.

The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear 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 made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”

Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a world where no one makes a mistake.