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Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.

A Sultan of Glitz

Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”

The Mainstream Revival

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.

But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”

A Highly Sought-After Retro Look

For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.

“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”

A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City

The expert says showgirls are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.

The Allure of Escape

Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.

Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support 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 cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.