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Following a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

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

The King of Sparkle

Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”

A Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from Tradition

Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.

But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”

The Highly Sought-After Retro Look

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star 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, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”

A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas

She says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.

An Allure of Escape

Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody makes a mistake.