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Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.

A Master of Glitz

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic 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 attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”

A Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from Tradition

These artists and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used 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 Style

For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“This style evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”

A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City

She says this figure are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.

An Appeal of Transformation

Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift references in a recent docuseries that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

The performer describes her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”

Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one misses a mark.