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Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.

A Master of Sparkle

Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”

A Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”

The Coveted Retro Style

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, 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, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.

“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”

More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas

She says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.

The Allure of Escape

Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a recent documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and numerous shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.

The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one falters.