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After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.

A Sultan of Sequins

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”

The Musical Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from History

Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.

But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look

For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”

More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas

The expert says this figure are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

An Allure of Escape

Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.

Hardy explains her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”

Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a universe where no one falters.