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Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.

A Sultan of Sequins

Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance 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 grew up with”, he told a publication. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”

A Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. 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, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.

Drawing from History

Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference classic performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”

The Coveted Retro Style

For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.

“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”

A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City

The expert says this figure are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.

An Appeal of Escape

Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.

The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered 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 moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.