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After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

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

A Sultan of Glitz

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

The Mainstream Resurgence

It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from History

These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”

The Highly Sought-After Retro Style

For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.

“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”

A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City

She says showgirls are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.

The Allure of Transformation

The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a new documentary series that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and countless shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.

The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”

Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.