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After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

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

The King of Glitz

Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”

A Musical Comeback

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. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.

But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

A Highly Sought-After Classic Style

For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.

“This style inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently 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 Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas

She says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

An Appeal of Escape

Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea the singer references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and 149 performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.

Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in heels 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 dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”

Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.