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Following a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.

The Master of Sparkle

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”

The Pop Culture Resurgence

It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from History

These artists and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.

But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 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 seemingly today's icons.”

The Coveted Classic Style

For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”

More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas

She says this figure are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

The Appeal of Transformation

The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea the singer references in a recent docuseries that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where no one falters.