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After a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.

A Master of Glitz

Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”

The Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from History

Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

The Coveted Classic Style

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.

“This style bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”

A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas

The expert says showgirls are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.

An Allure of Escape

The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.

The performer describes her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”

Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a world where nobody makes a mistake.