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Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.

A King of Sparkle

Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”

The Mainstream Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from Tradition

These artists and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.

But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”

The Highly Sought-After Retro Look

For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.

“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”

More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City

Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.

The Appeal of Escape

Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and countless shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.

The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.