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After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.

A King of Sequins

Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”

The Pop Culture Resurgence

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, 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 glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from History

Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.

But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”

The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style

For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City

Chung says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.

The Allure of Illusion

The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer references in a latest documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.

Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.