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After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.

A Master of Glitz

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

A Mainstream Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from Tradition

Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.

But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”

The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style

For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 fashion collectors.

“This style bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”

A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas

Chung says showgirls are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

The Allure of Illusion

The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and countless shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.

Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”

It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.