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Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer 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”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.

A King of Sequins

Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”

A Pop Culture Resurgence

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from History

Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.

But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”

A Highly Sought-After Classic Look

For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by 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, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”

A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City

Chung says this figure are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.

An Allure of Escape

Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and 149 shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.

Hardy explains her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 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 underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”

Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody falters.