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After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.

A Sultan of Sparkle

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”

The Mainstream Resurgence

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.

Pulling from History

Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.

But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”

A Coveted Retro Look

For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.

“This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”

More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City

She says this figure are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.

The Allure of Illusion

Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.

Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”

Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.