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After a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.

The King of Sparkle

Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”

The Pop Culture Revival

It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from Tradition

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”

The Coveted Classic Look

For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.

“This style inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”

A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas

Chung says this figure are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.

An Appeal of Transformation

The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a new documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and numerous performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”

Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a realm where nobody falters.