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Following a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.

A King of Glitz

Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”

A Mainstream Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.

But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”

A Highly Sought-After Classic Look

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress designed 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 beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”

A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas

She says this figure are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.

An Allure of Illusion

The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.

Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”

Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one falters.