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After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

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

A Master of Sequins

Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over 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 looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”

A Pop Culture Comeback

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from History

Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 90s pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”

The Coveted Vintage Style

For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.

“This style evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”

More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas

She says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.

An Appeal of Illusion

Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea the singer hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and 149 performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.

She explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”

Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.