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After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.

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

The Master of Glitz

Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”

The Musical Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from Tradition

Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.

But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”

A Coveted Classic Style

For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously 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 popular item among fashion collectors.

“This style inspire nostalgia 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 ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”

A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City

The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.

An Allure of Illusion

Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer hints at in a latest docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and countless concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.

The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”

Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one makes a mistake.