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After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.

The King of Sequins

Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”

A Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from the Past

These artists and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome 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 on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”

A Coveted Classic Look

For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.

“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas

She says this figure are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.

An Appeal of Illusion

The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer references in a new documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and countless shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.

The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”

Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.