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Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.

The Master of Sequins

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”

A Mainstream Revival

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.

Pulling from the Past

Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.

But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”

The Coveted Classic Look

For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”

A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas

The expert says this figure are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.

An Appeal of Escape

The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and numerous performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”

Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a world where no one makes a mistake.