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After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.

A Sultan of Sequins

Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”

A Mainstream Revival

It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from Tradition

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference historical performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”

The Highly Sought-After Classic Look

For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed 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 favorite among vintage enthusiasts.

“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”

More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City

She says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.

The Appeal of Illusion

Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and countless shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.