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Following a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.

The King of Glitz

Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”

A Musical Comeback

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from History

Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.

But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”

The Coveted Vintage Style

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.

“This style inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”

A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City

Chung says showgirls are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.

An Allure of Transformation

Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.