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After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

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

The King of Glitz

Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

A Pop Culture Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.

Drawing from the Past

Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.

But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

The Coveted Retro Look

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus 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, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.

“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”

More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City

She says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.

The Allure of Escape

Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a latest docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and numerous performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.

Hardy describes her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.