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Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.

A King of Sequins

Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”

The Mainstream Resurgence

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

The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from the Past

Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”

A Coveted Retro Look

For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to 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 at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”

More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City

Chung says showgirls are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.

An Allure of Illusion

Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and countless performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody makes a mistake.