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Following a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.

A Master of Sparkle

Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

The Pop Culture Resurgence

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.

Pulling from the Past

Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s 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 even Taylor Swift.”

The Highly Sought-After Retro Look

For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.

“This style evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City

Chung says this figure are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.

The Appeal of Escape

The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a new documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She explains her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one makes a mistake.