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After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

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

A Master of Sequins

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

“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable 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. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on historical performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.

But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”

The Coveted Classic Style

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded 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 hit among vintage enthusiasts.

“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”

More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas

The expert says this figure are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.

An Appeal of Escape

Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea the singer references in a latest docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and countless concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.

Hardy describes her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress 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 underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”

Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a world where no one makes a mistake.