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After a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.

A Master of Glitz

Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”

The Mainstream Resurgence

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.

Drawing from Tradition

These artists and other chart toppers also draw on classic performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.

But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”

A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look

For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made 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 at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.

“This style evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”

A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas

She says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.

An Allure of Illusion

The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a world where no one misses a mark.