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After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

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

A King of Glitz

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”

A Pop Culture Revival

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from Tradition

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

The Highly Sought-After Retro Look

For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.

“This style evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas

The expert says this figure are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.

An Appeal of Transformation

Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea the singer hints at in a new docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and 149 shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”

Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one falters.