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Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.

The Master of Sequins

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”

A Musical Resurgence

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

She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.

Drawing from Tradition

These artists and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.

But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

The Coveted Classic Style

For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas

She says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.

An Appeal of Transformation

Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something the singer alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and numerous shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.

The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a world where nobody falters.