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Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.

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

The Sultan of Sparkle

Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”

A Pop Culture Resurgence

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan 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 sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.

Drawing from the Past

Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

The Coveted Classic Style

For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.

“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”

More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas

The expert says this figure are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.

An Allure of Transformation

Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea the singer references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and countless concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.