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After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

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

A King of Sparkle

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”

The Musical Comeback

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.

Pulling from Tradition

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”

A Highly Sought-After Retro Look

For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”

More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas

She says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.

The Allure of Escape

Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and countless concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.