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Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.

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

The Master of Glitz

Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”

The Musical Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference historical performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”

A Highly Sought-After Classic Look

For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”

More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City

The expert says showgirls are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.

An Appeal of Transformation

Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and countless performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.

The performer explains her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.