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After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.

The Sultan of Sparkle

Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”

The Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.

Drawing from Tradition

These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style

For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star 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, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.

“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”

More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas

The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.

An Appeal of Transformation

Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and countless performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.