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Following a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.

The King of Sequins

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”

The Mainstream Resurgence

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”

The Coveted Classic Look

For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas

She says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.

The Appeal of Escape

The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a new docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.

Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a universe where no one falters.