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Following a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.

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

A Master of Sequins

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”

A Pop Culture Resurgence

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.

Pulling from History

These artists and other hitmakers also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.

But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”

The Coveted Vintage Look

For gen Z and young adult 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 actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.

“This style evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas

She says this figure are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.

An Appeal of Illusion

Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a new docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and countless shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.

Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one makes a mistake.