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Following a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.

The Master of Sequins

Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I believe 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. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”

A Pop Culture Comeback

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.

Pulling from the Past

Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.

But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”

The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style

For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished 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 significant price to buy the Mackie fringed 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 hit among vintage enthusiasts.

“This style inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”

More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas

Chung says showgirls are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.

The Allure of Illusion

Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and countless shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.

Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody falters.