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After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.

A Sultan of Glitz

Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”

The Musical Comeback

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by 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 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.

Drawing from Tradition

Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”

A Highly Sought-After Classic Look

For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”

A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas

She says showgirls are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.

An Appeal of Transformation

Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and countless shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.

She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”

Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody falters.