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After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.

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

A Master of Sparkle

Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”

A Musical Comeback

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.

Pulling from the Past

These artists and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.

But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”

The Coveted Vintage Style

For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City

The expert says this figure are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.

The Allure of Illusion

Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and numerous performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.

The performer explains her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”

Perhaps 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 look to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a universe where no one makes a mistake.