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After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.

A Sultan of Glitz

Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”

A Musical Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.

Pulling from the Past

Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.

But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s 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 seemingly today's icons.”

A Coveted Vintage Look

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“This style bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”

More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas

The expert says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.

The Allure of Transformation

Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a new documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.