Staging a fashion show can be an expensive business. Just look at last week's Victoria's Secret parade, which reportedly cost $US20 million ($26 million).
There's the cost of the models, hair and make-up, lighting, sound and staging. And let's not forget the clothes themselves.
Industry figures estimate the cost of a solo show at $50,000 or more.
In recent times, joining a group show at events such as the Melbourne Fashion Festival has become a cost-effective way to stage a show on a tight budget.
Heading towards its 21st year, the festival program for next March will see one in three designers showing there for the first time.
Kit Willow's label KitX is among the first-timers to be unveiled at the official launch on Thursday night. Other new labels include Albus Lumen and Misha Collection, which wooed model of the moment Bella Hadid to walk at its Sydney show last May.
Festival chief Graeme Lewsey said the new and established names would appear together in the group shows.
"While you're seeing your favourite designer, the festival can introduce you to another," he said.
Mr Lewsey said he lowered the entry fee for designers – currently $1500 – when he took the top job six years ago.
"For a Hollywood film, the producers pay the stars. The designers are our stars and we should do the work to provide the opportunity for them," he said.
Willow said there are pros and cons to being in a group show, but the festival would help further build her Melbourne profile.
"When you're doing your own show, you're 100 per cent in control," she said.
Since its inception, the festival has fostered a "see now, buy now" format, which Mr Lewsey said was finally reaching maturity.
"This is the festival that was always in the making," he said. "We're in a world of some challenging news … we're trying to create 'fashion-tainment' to put smiles on faces and for people to enjoy fashion."
Although there aren't exact figures on sales directly attributed to last year's festival, he said 1118 looks from 68 designers were available to buy through the festival's associated e-commerce platform.
Willow said although more international brands were moving to a "shop the runway" model, there was still value in building anticipation for a range to hit stores.
"It's like an elastic band that releases. It gets eaten up. That will always remain relevant," she said.
"The customer is so much more empowered and it's so much more competitive. To succeed, you need to have a unique point of difference."
Fashion commentator Patty Huntington said sales spikes of 25 to 30 per cent around the festival had been reported.
She said time would tell whether the growing international trend towards see-now-buy-now parades would become the industry norm.
"The jury is out on how much of a gimmick this is – to completely upend your production cycle and have buyers and media come ... months ahead and sign non-disclosure agreements.
"There are a number of reports of significant sales spikes, but does it last the whole season?"
She said the Melbourne Fashion Festival was a successful "celebration of fashion".
"It's a lot cheaper than one Instagram post by an influencer," she said. "The audience is there, then you get the coverage of it … it's an opportunity to put your stuff up on the runway."
But showing at large-scale fashion festivals can be exhausting for only mediocre returns, said gown designer Gwendolynne Burkin.
"Good old-fashioned word of mouth is amazing for business, too," she said.
Burkin, who took part in the recent Melbourne Spring Fashion Week, said while fashion festivals were great for younger designers, they didn't always fit her brand image.
"There's a lot of compromise being in those fashion weeks but [being in a group show] makes it very affordable."
The Melbourne Fashion Festival will take place at Melbourne Museum and other venues, March 1-19, 2017. vamff.com.au.