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Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.

A Sultan of Sequins

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”

The Pop Culture Comeback

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from Tradition

These artists and other chart toppers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.

But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

A Highly Sought-After Classic Look

For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.

“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”

A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City

Chung says this figure are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.

An Allure of Transformation

Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and countless performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.

She explains her own showgirl performances as “similar 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 performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a realm where no one falters.