The Designer Garage Sale at Air New Zealand Fashion Weekend is becoming an important event in its own right on the New Zealand fashion calendar.

Apart from the obvious benefits of being able to clear last season's stock and the cash that provides, the sale has become successful in bringing the brand names of those involved to a new and larger fashion hungry audience.

Designer fashion is a difficult business to break into at the best of times and some brands find that even in the largest marketplace, Auckland, they rarely have more than two stockists in the region. This means low brand visibility and a long slow haul to become a powerful (profitable) brand.

Therefore the Designer Garage Sale and its annual exposure to 4,000plus fashion hungry shoppers suddenly becomes a viable way to promote the brand in the best way possible - by getting garments onto the bodies of Auckland shoppers.

For this reason, most designers have come back year after year, including young and progressive names such as Cybèle, Hailwood, Federation and Michael Pattison.

They're joined this year by more local designers such as Blak Basic, Lonely Hearts, Salasai, Sera Lilly, Deborah Sweeney, Nyne, Ruby, Polish, Sabatini, Stitch Ministry, Sable & Minx plus many more.

Now in its fourth year the sale has been growing as fast as its resources can stand, with more than 40% growth each year in both participating designers and garments on sale. This year more than 40 labels will be on show, and well over $1 million worth of stock to sell.

Organisers Paul and Jill Blomfield are excited but also nervous about what this year's event could bring. "We were swamped on the first day last year," says Paul. "People were just so enthusiastic that our systems struggled to keep up. So we've doubled our systems, staff and resources this year. If there is a big turnout - we're prepared!" he said.

The New Zealand Herald Designer Garage Sale is part of the Air New Zealand Fashion Weekend, an event that includes shows, restaurant, bars and live music over the Friday night and Saturday at the end of Fashion Week - tickets for the weekend are $15.00 for access to all these features.