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After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.

A King of Sequins

Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”

A Pop Culture Revival

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.

Pulling from the Past

Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.

But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”

A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look

For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“This style bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas

The expert says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.

An Allure of Transformation

The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea the singer references in a recent docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and countless shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.

The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a world where no one falters.