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Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.

The Master of Sparkle

Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”

A Pop Culture Revival

It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert 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 mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.

Drawing from History

Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”

The Highly Sought-After Classic Style

For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.

“This style evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”

A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City

Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.

The Allure of Transformation

The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a recent docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and 149 performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.

Hardy describes her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.