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After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.

The Sultan of Sparkle

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”

The Mainstream Resurgence

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from the Past

These artists and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.

But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”

The Coveted Retro Look

For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“This style inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”

A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas

Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

The Allure of Transformation

Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a new documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.