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Following a long-running stint 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 created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.

A Sultan of Sequins

Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

A Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.

Drawing from Tradition

Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”

The Coveted Retro Look

For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer 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 significant price to buy the Mackie beaded 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.

“This style evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City

The expert says showgirls are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.

The Allure of Escape

The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift references in a recent docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and countless shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a universe where no one falters.