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Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.

The Sultan of Sparkle

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”

A Pop Culture Comeback

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from Tradition

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”

The Coveted Vintage Style

For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, 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 trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.

“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City

Chung says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.

The Allure of Illusion

Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.

She describes her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”

Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.