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Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

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

A Sultan of Sparkle

Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert 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. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”

The Pop Culture Comeback

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.

Pulling from the Past

These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”

A Coveted Classic Style

For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic 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 inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount 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 vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”

A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas

She says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.

The Allure of Transformation

The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.

She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a world where nobody misses a mark.