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Following a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.

The Master of Glitz

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”

A Musical Comeback

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”

The Highly Sought-After Retro Look

For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.

“This style bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”

More Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City

She says showgirls are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

An Appeal of Transformation

The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.

Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”

Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a world where no one makes a mistake.