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Following a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.

The Sultan of Glitz

Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny 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 desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

A Musical Revival

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from Tradition

Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference classic performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.

But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”

A Highly Sought-After Classic Look

For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.

“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”

A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas

She says this figure are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.

The Appeal of Illusion

Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and countless performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.

Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 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 entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”

Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.