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Following a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

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

A King of Sequins

Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”

The Mainstream Resurgence

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.

Pulling from History

These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.

But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

The Coveted Vintage Style

For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”

More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas

She says this figure are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.

The Appeal of Escape

Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and numerous performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.

Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning 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. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a universe where nobody misses a mark.