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Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

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

The Sultan of Sparkle

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”

The Pop Culture Resurgence

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.

Pulling from Tradition

Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.

But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”

The Coveted Vintage Style

For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City

She says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.

The Appeal of Illusion

Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.

The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a world where no one makes a mistake.