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After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.

The Sultan of Sequins

Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”

A Musical Resurgence

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.

Drawing from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.

But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”

The Highly Sought-After Classic Style

For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made 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 previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

More Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City

The expert says showgirls are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.

The Allure of Transformation

The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer hints at in a latest documentary series that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and countless shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”

Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a world where no one makes a mistake.