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Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.

A Master of Sequins

Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

The Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from History

These artists and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.

But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s 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 even today's icons.”

The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look

For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.

“This style evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”

A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City

She says showgirls are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.

An Appeal of Illusion

The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea the singer alludes to in a latest documentary series that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and 149 performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.

Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”

Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one falters.