Addressing the needs of this nascent genre, the council was developed along a trade-oriented format. Setting a precursor for a nation steeped in the rich history of traditional weaves, prints and embellishment FDCI in directives to guide their designers out of a market that was primarily focused on couture lines, wedding trousseaus and one-off client servicing. Penning a new chapter in 'fashion' history, a cohesive event titled "India Fashion Week" was launched in 2000. Lakme was bought in as a key sponsor and IMG as the event managers.
Working to soothe every hiccup after the first Fashion Week, both IMG crews and FDCI teams worked out a new strategy. The logo line for the next Fashion Week was evocative with its resonance 'The Business of Fashion'. An interesting theme thought up by the FDCI as they invited the fraternity to 'Join the Fashion Movement' and incorporated marketing and legal teams to support their processes giving them a new podium at Bombay's Taj.
The third season saw an exponential growth; even as Fashion Week continued to oscillate between two major metropolises- Delhi and Mumbai.
2003 proved to be a commercial turning point as overseas buyers shared seats with local buyers. 2004 saw a mad jostle for space between buyers and media played out amidst the Machiavellian saga of Indian elections and sporadic style stories at New Delhi's The Grand Hotel. 2005 a true turning page as Rathi Vinay Jha, the iron lady of the fashion world was bought in to head FDCI after Vinod Kaul's departure. 'Was there real business conducted?' was the rhetoric question a burgeoning group with sybaritic preoccupations levelled her with.
The sixth edition of the Indian fashion trade event was the biggest and the best. 63 fashion designers, 39 shows and four accessories designers took a bow in front of 400 local and 120 foreign media representatives. Pundits 'predicted' 3000 crore potential by 2012, if you scratched the surface, you would find buyers coming out of woodwork.