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After a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

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

A King of Sparkle

Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”

A Pop Culture Resurgence

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from Tradition

Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. 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 seemingly modern pop stars.”

A Coveted Vintage Style

For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.

“This style evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”

More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas

The expert says showgirls are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.

The Appeal of Escape

The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a new documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”

Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.