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After a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

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

The Sultan of Glitz

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”

A Mainstream Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco 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, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from the Past

Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”

A Highly Sought-After Classic Style

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price 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 vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.

“This style evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”

More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City

Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.

The Appeal of Transformation

Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a new documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own showgirl performances 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 staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.