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After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.

The Master of Glitz

Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”

A Musical Comeback

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.

But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced 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 apparently Taylor Swift.”

The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style

For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.

“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas

She says showgirls are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, 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, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.

The Appeal of Transformation

Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea the singer references in a recent documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.

She explains her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 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 leave early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.