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Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

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

A Master of Sparkle

Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”

A Pop Culture Comeback

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.

Drawing from Tradition

Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.

But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”

The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style

For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.

“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”

More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City

She says showgirls are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.

An Allure of Illusion

Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something the singer alludes to in a latest docuseries that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and countless performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She describes her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one makes a mistake.