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Following a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.

The Master of Glitz

Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

The Mainstream Resurgence

It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage 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 called The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from History

These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”

The Highly Sought-After Classic Style

For younger and millennial 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 translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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 vintage enthusiasts.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas

The expert says showgirls are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.

An Appeal of Illusion

Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift references in a new docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and countless performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.