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Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.

A Sultan of Sparkle

Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”

A Mainstream Resurgence

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.

Pulling from the Past

These artists and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”

A Coveted Classic Look

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star 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 vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas

She says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.

An Allure of Illusion

The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.

The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one makes a mistake.