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Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.

The Master of Sequins

Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”

A Pop Culture Revival

It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered 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, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from the Past

Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

A Coveted Vintage Look

For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.

“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City

The expert says showgirls are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.

An Appeal of Illusion

Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea the singer references in a new docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and 149 shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.

Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”

Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.