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Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.

A Sultan of Glitz

Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”

The Pop Culture Comeback

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from the Past

These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”

The Coveted Retro Style

For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.

“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City

Chung says this figure are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.

The Allure of Illusion

Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something the singer references in a recent docuseries that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a universe where no one falters.