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After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.

The Sultan of Glitz

Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”

A Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.

Pulling from History

These artists and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.

But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

A Coveted Classic Style

For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.

“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”

More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City

The expert says this figure are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.

The Appeal of Transformation

Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and 149 shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.

The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a realm where no one misses a mark.