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Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.

The Master of Glitz

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”

A Mainstream Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named 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 zoomed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from Tradition

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.

But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

The Highly Sought-After Classic Look

For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum 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 trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”

A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas

The expert says showgirls are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of 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 behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and countless shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

The performer recalls her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a universe where no one falters.