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After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.

The Master of Sparkle

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

A Mainstream Revival

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect 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 concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from Tradition

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

A Highly Sought-After Retro Look

For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.

“This style bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”

A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City

Chung says showgirls are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.

The Allure of Transformation

The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea the singer references in a recent docuseries that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.

She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. 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, flawlessness and a world where no one misses a mark.