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After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.

The King of Glitz

Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

A Musical Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from History

These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”

A Coveted Classic Style

For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, 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, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.

“This style bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas

The expert says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.

The Allure of Transformation

The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift references in a new documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”

Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.