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After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

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

The King of Glitz

Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”

A Pop Culture Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”

A Highly Sought-After Classic Style

For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas

Chung says this figure are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.

An Allure of Illusion

Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody falters.