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Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.

A Master of Sparkle

Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”

The Musical Resurgence

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by 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 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.

Drawing from Tradition

Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”

A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer 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 classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.

“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”

More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas

Chung says this figure are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.

An Appeal of Transformation

Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a recent docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.

The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one falters.