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Following a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.

A Sultan of Sequins

Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

A Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from Tradition

Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look

For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, 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 series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”

A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas

She says showgirls are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.

The Allure of Escape

Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.

The performer explains her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a world where no one falters.