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Following a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.

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

The Master of Sparkle

Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”

The Pop Culture Comeback

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from the Past

These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”

A Highly Sought-After Retro Style

For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”

A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas

The expert says this figure are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.

An Appeal of Transformation

Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a recent docuseries that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and countless performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.

She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs 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 recover before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”

Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a world where no one falters.