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After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.

The Master of Glitz

Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

A Musical Comeback

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from Tradition

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.

But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time 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 encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”

A Coveted Classic Style

For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”

More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas

She says showgirls are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

An Appeal of Transformation

The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift references in a latest documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”

Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.