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Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.

A Master of Glitz

Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”

The Mainstream Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.

But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”

The Coveted Vintage Look

For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”

A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City

She says this figure are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.

The Allure of Escape

Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.

Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.