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Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

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

A Master of Sparkle

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective 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 seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”

A Pop Culture Resurgence

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.

Pulling from the Past

Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.

But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”

The Coveted Classic Style

For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously 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 fashion collectors.

“This style evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City

The expert says showgirls are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.

An Allure of Escape

Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer hints at in a recent documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.

The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”

Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.