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Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

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

The King of Glitz

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”

The Musical Resurgence

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks 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, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from the Past

Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.

But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”

A Coveted Classic Style

For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas

She says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.

An Allure of Illusion

The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift references in a new documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.

The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody makes a mistake.