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After a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.

A Master of Sequins

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”

A Musical Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.

Pulling from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term 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 Look

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created 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 trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.

“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”

More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City

She says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

The Allure of Escape

Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.

Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”

Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.