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After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.

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

The King of Sequins

Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”

A Mainstream Revival

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from History

Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.

But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”

A Highly Sought-After Retro Style

For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.

“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas

Chung says this figure are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

The Allure of Transformation

Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.

Hardy explains her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.