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Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.

A Master of Glitz

Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”

The Musical Resurgence

It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.

Drawing from History

Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference classic performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.

But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”

The Highly Sought-After Retro Style

For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas

The expert says showgirls are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.

The Appeal of Transformation

Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and 149 performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.

She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody makes a mistake.