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Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.

A Sultan of Glitz

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”

A Musical Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from the Past

Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”

A Coveted Retro Style

For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas

Chung says showgirls are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.

An Allure of Transformation

The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea Swift references in a recent docuseries that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and numerous performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.

Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 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 leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one falters.