With fire jugglers, Ziegfeld Follies-style stripteases, and Cirque du Soleil-worthy contortionists, the recent Girly Show II was definitely not your average fashion runway display. Admittedly, straight-up catwalk stuff is becoming harder to find these days: organizers are ramping up the old standard by mixing it with everything from rock concerts to art shows. But nobody trots out quite as much eye candy as producer Tanya Fournier, who launched the first installation of her burlesque-fashion fusion to wild success last spring.

The latest rendition, held at the Caprice Nightclub on October 13, had a theme of Femmes de la Cirque. Between runway bits, you might see straight-outta-Vegas Champagne Show Girls cancanning across the stage in mammoth sparkling headdresses or a rapturously received burlesque performer revealing what Wonder Woman wore under her star-spangled body suit (pasties and a huge airbrushed feline, apparently).

The clothes, lingerie, and jewellery on display fit perfectly into the retro-vaudevillian milieu. With their hair rolled up and pulled into ponytails with giant peacock feathers sprouting out of them (courtesy of Moods Hair Salon) and their faces powdered white with scarlet lips, the models looked like film-noir stars.

The highlight of the night was a segment featuring Bon-Bon's meticulously handmade femme-fatale pieces. One scarlet cigarette skirt found multicoloured flamenco ruffles kicking out the back slit; another similar slim skirt found a huge tartan flower sprouting from its waist. Red rose appliqués danced up the circle skirt of a '50s-style, black strapless dress. Topstitched bustiers, satin-floral appliqués, skirts with undernetting, and dresses that looked like the kind of thing Jessica Rabbit might have worn to her prom: Jane Collins's beautiful bombshell outfits make you think of Ava Gardner movies and old Dick Tracy comics. (They're available at Bodacious [4393 Main Street] and Barefoot Contessa [3715 Main Street].)

Designer Paulina Bui, who specializes in couture and custom-made fashions, seemed to look to the same era for inspiration. One skirt's net underlayers made it froth out like cotton candy. Other pieces had a harder edge: ribbons of dark leather swung over the hips of wide, gauzy palazzo pants, while others snugged over a bustier top and formed the strands of a swingy skirt. Think Lana Turner on her way to a fetish night.

International luxury-lingerie label Wolford is not what you'd call vintage-y, but somehow its rhinestoned hosiery, sultry garters, and second-skin tube dresses fit into the feel of the evening. Its pieces were shown with locally made LAS Designs' glamorous yet bohemian jewellery: multiple long chains of silver that loop around the neck and then dangle with not only crystals and semiprecious stones but such exotic elements as feathers and tassels. Lesley-Anne Slisko, the creative brains behind these baubles, draws from turn-of-the-20th-century Moulin Rouge-era Paris for many of her ideas. Her pieces were a good match with the burlesque theme of the evening, but they'd combine just as well with this fall's lush velvets and Victorian blouses. (The line is carried at many stores around town, including Barefoot Contessa, Liquid [2050 West 4th Avenue], House of Jewels [953 Nicola Street], Object Design [1551 Johnston Street and 2072 West 4th Avenue], and Fine Finds [1014 Mainland Street].)

Perhaps the biggest surprise was how chic all the fashion amid the spectacle was. Except for the odd glitzy headdress and that Wonder Woman body suit, most of what was on-stage was incredibly wearable.