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After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

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

The Master of Glitz

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”

A Pop Culture Resurgence

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.

Pulling from Tradition

These artists and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.

But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”

A Coveted Vintage Style

For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.

“This style evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City

The expert says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.

The Allure of Illusion

Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a latest docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and numerous performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”

Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.