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Following a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.

The King of Glitz

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”

The Mainstream Revival

It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, 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 shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. A top 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 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.

Pulling from the Past

These artists and other hitmakers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

A Coveted Retro Style

For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.

“This style inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”

More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City

The expert says this figure are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.

An Appeal of Escape

Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Swift references in a new docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.

The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race 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 backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”

Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a world where nobody misses a mark.