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After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.

The King of Glitz

Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering 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 enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”

The Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from the Past

These artists and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.

But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”

A Coveted Vintage Style

For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”

More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City

The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.

An Allure of Illusion

The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a new documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and 149 performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.

She explains her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where nobody misses a mark.