The grand finale of the 2014 City Fashion Festival was nothing short of spectacular.

The annual City of Hamilton retail showcase provided an opportunity for several of the city’s leading department stores and boutiques to show off their wares to around 1000 attendees on Saturday night.

Hamilton stalwarts like AS Cooper, Gibbons Company, and Marks & Spenser produced well executed presentations that proved to be as admired as they were stylish and practical. Sensible looks for men, women, and children were the order of the day for the department stores, and each delivered with considerable panache.

Specialist boutiques like The Edge and Shannon’s produced very cool looks for men, while Benetton, Stefanel and Mambo offered seasonal European styles for ladies and gents.

Summer fun was the theme for Making Waves, and Sidekicks created a football feast entitled ‘FIFA 2014’ for the sports obsessed fashion fiends among us. Fresh and fabulous urban looks were presented by The Booth and Branded Life, while Luxury For Less produced a stunning collection of elegant evening wear looks for the sophisticated lady.

The always popular kids’ fashions were provided by AS Cooper Kids, AS Cooper Teens, and Heaven Sent. Several downright adorable looks were presented here, and the wee models were just too sweet for words.

Jazzy’s Plus produced a memorable display of awesome styles for plus-sized ladies, while Secrets took the prize for spectacle with a very entertaining presentation of their sexy, yet tasteful, lingerie collection. Secrets, in fact, delivered one of the best choreographed presentations of the evening, as did accessory and sunglass store Mystique with a delightful dramatic interlude entitled ‘Selfie.’

The event as a whole was very well organised, and the large cast of local models was simply wonderful to watch as they strut their collective stuff on stage. Running three hours from start to finish, with a 20 minute interlude in the middle, this show was well conceived, well executed, and well received.

Even the intermission provided entertainment, with London Designer Anna Laub’s ‘Prism’ collections being shown on the main stage, followed by a live performance by the wonderful Working Title band. At the very end, a few unexpected prizes were handed out by a committee of organisers and international fashion people. Alshante Foggo’s ‘TropiXal’ collection was named best collection by a local designer, and Sophie Adams was named outstanding local model.

Both local ladies were invited to represent Bermuda in the ‘Islands of the World Showcase’ on board Fashion Brand International’s upcoming 2014 Miami Fashion Cruise. President Angela Marie Paisley and spokeswoman Renee Noor of Fashion Brand International out of Atlanta, were on hand to present the prizes.