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Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.

The King of Sparkle

Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”

The Musical Resurgence

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from the Past

Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”

A Coveted Classic Style

For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress made 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 private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.

“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”

More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas

The expert says showgirls are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.

The Appeal of Transformation

The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea the singer references in a new documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”

Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.