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Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

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

A Sultan of Sparkle

Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”

The Musical Revival

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.

But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”

The Coveted Retro Look

For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic 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 semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star 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 retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.

“This style evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”

More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City

She says this figure are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

An Allure of Transformation

The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift hints at in a new docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.

She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”

Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.