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After a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.

A King of Sparkle

Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”

The Pop Culture Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from Tradition

These artists and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.

But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”

A Coveted Vintage Look

For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent 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 undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.

“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City

Chung says showgirls are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

The Allure of Illusion

Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea the singer hints at in a recent documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”

Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one falters.