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Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous 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 “a relic of another era”.

Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.

The Master of Glitz

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”

The Mainstream Resurgence

It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original 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 called The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. 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 even today's icons.”

The Highly Sought-After Classic Style

For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made 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 earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”

More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas

The expert says this figure are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

The Allure of Transformation

The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer alludes to in a recent documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and countless shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.

Hardy describes her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one falters.