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After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.

A Sultan of Sequins

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

A Mainstream Resurgence

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan 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 perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from the Past

These artists and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.

But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”

The Highly Sought-After Retro Look

For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.

“This style inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”

A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas

The expert says this figure are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.

An Appeal of Transformation

Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and 149 performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.

The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”

Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a world where nobody misses a mark.