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Following a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.

The King of Sparkle

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”

A Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. 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, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from Tradition

Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.

But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”

The Coveted Retro Style

For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star 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, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.

“This style bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City

She says showgirls are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.

An Appeal of Transformation

Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea the singer references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.

The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody falters.