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After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.

A King of Sequins

Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”

The Pop Culture Comeback

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon 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 tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from Tradition

Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on historical performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, 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 performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

The Coveted Classic Look

For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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 hit among vintage enthusiasts.

“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas

Chung says this figure are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.

An Appeal of Illusion

Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea the singer alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.

The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”

Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a world where nobody misses a mark.