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After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.

The Master of Glitz

Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed 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 emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

A Pop Culture Resurgence

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from History

Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.

But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”

The Coveted Classic Look

For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”

A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas

She says this figure are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based 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 remaining figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.

An Appeal of Transformation

Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift references in a new documentary series that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.

She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”

Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a realm where nobody misses a mark.