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Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

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

The Sultan of Sparkle

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”

A Mainstream Resurgence

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from the Past

Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.

But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”

The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look

For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.

“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”

A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas

Chung says this figure are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.

The Appeal of Transformation

Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.

Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.