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Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

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

The Master of Sequins

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”

A Pop Culture Resurgence

It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. 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, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”

A Coveted Retro Style

For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas

Chung says this figure are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.

The Allure of Transformation

Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a new docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and 149 shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.

Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”

Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one falters.