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Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.

A King of Sequins

Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”

A Mainstream Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from History

Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.

But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”

The Highly Sought-After Retro Look

For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously 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 popular item among collectors.

“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”

More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City

Chung says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.

The Appeal of Escape

The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and numerous shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She explains her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.