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Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.

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

The Master of Sequins

Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering 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 younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”

The Musical Revival

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.

Pulling from Tradition

These artists and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.

But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”

The Coveted Classic Look

For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.

“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas

The expert says showgirls are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

An Allure of Transformation

Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and countless performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.

Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.