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Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.

A Master of Sparkle

Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

A Pop Culture Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from the Past

These artists and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.

But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”

A Coveted Classic Style

For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.

“This style bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas

Chung says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.

The Appeal of Transformation

The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a latest docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.

The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”

Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody misses a mark.