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Following a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.

A Master of Sequins

Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”

The Mainstream Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.

Drawing from Tradition

These artists and other chart toppers also reference classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.

But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl 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 Style

For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.

“This style inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas

She says showgirls are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.

The Appeal of Illusion

Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a world where nobody falters.