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Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.

A Sultan of Sequins

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”

The Pop Culture Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from the Past

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”

A Coveted Retro Look

For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”

More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas

She says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.

An Allure of Illusion

Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift references in a latest docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.

Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”

Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a world where nobody makes a mistake.