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After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.

The Sultan of Sparkle

Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

The Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from History

These artists and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”

The Coveted Vintage Look

For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.

“This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”

More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas

Chung says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.

An Appeal of Transformation

Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.

The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.