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After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.

The Sultan of Sequins

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”

A Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from the Past

These artists and other chart toppers also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.

But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”

The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style

For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”

A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas

She says this figure are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.

The Allure of Transformation

The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something the singer references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and numerous shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.

She describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody falters.