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After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.

The Master of Sequins

Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted 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 desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”

The Musical Comeback

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, 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 titled The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from Tradition

Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.

But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. 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 Taylor Swift.”

A Coveted Retro Look

For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.

“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”

A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas

She says this figure are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

An Allure of Escape

Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.

The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.