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After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

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

A King of Glitz

Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

The Pop Culture Revival

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from History

These artists and other chart toppers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

A Highly Sought-After Retro Look

For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”

More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas

The expert says this figure are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.

The Appeal of Escape

Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and countless concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.

The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”

Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where no one makes a mistake.