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After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

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

The Master of Glitz

Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”

The Mainstream Resurgence

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from Tradition

These artists and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era 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. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”

The Coveted Classic Look

For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer 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 series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.

“This style evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”

A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas

Chung says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.

An Allure of Transformation

Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.

She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 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 start early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”

Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one makes a mistake.