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Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

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

The King of Sparkle

Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed 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 looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”

The Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from History

These artists and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”

A Highly Sought-After Retro Look

For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod 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 reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.

“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”

More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City

The expert says this figure are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.

An Allure of Illusion

Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.

Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one makes a mistake.