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After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.

The Sultan of Sequins

Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”

A Pop Culture Resurgence

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, 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, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from Tradition

These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”

A Highly Sought-After Classic Look

For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.

“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”

A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas

The expert says this figure are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” she says.

An Appeal of Illusion

Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift hints at in a new documentary series that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and countless concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.

She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms 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. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one makes a mistake.