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Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

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

A King of Glitz

Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”

The Pop Culture Revival

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from the Past

Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”

A Coveted Retro Style

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”

More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas

She says this figure are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

The Allure of Escape

Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something the singer references in a latest docuseries that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and 149 shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”

Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.