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After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.

A Master of Sparkle

Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”

A Mainstream Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan 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 sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from the Past

Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.

But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”

The Coveted Classic Style

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas

She says showgirls are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.

An Appeal of Transformation

Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.

Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one misses a mark.