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Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

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

The Master of Sequins

Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”

The Musical Resurgence

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from History

These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and cargo 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 entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”

A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style

For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”

More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas

The expert says this figure are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.

The Allure of Illusion

The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Swift references in a recent documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and 149 shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.