In 1972, Ayako Nagaya was born in Aichi Prefecture. After graduating from university in 1995, she joined Recruit Co., Ltd. as an editor of international travel and bridal magazines.
In 2003, she moved to an IT venture company for a new career and took part in the production of fashion shows. By 2005, she became a producer at the TOKYO GIRLS COLLECTION (TGC) start-up. Since 2006, she has concurrently served as a board member of F1 MEDIA, Inc., an affiliate of the aforementioned IT venture. In 2007, she won 2nd prize for "Woman of the Year, 2008" (organized by Nikkei Woman at Nikkei Business Publications).
In April 2009, she became CEO of F1 MEDIA, Inc., an all-round advertising agency focused toward the F1 demographic group (females aged between 20 and 34) which also develops TGC as a core business. The company provides solutions for information technology and E-commerce; develops plans, designs, and implementations of cross-media advertising, combined purchase and sale of advertising spaces including mobile phones, web, events, and transit advertising.
Held semi-annually since 2005, the 5th anniversary of girlswalker.com, TOKYO GIRLS COLLECTION (TGC) is considered the largest ever "Fashion-Fiesta". It brings together the hottest brands and popular models, and presents cutting-edge new fashions to showcase real essence of Japanese style. Deemed not only a fashion show, the event also features live music by spotlighted artists, a beauty pageant that produces popular models, and charity auctions. Reflecting its massive popularity, the event now attracts an attendance of over 20,000 people. TGC also encourages E-commerce by allowing people to purchase the exact styles that are worn by models on stage via mobile phone. It has been described in the news as a cross-media event producing interactive communications that women all over Japan can access by mobile phone, PC, TV, and magazine. With support from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tokyo Metropolitan Government, TGC has also been held in Paris and Beijing, and continues to evolve as a leading event for real fashion and culture in Tokyo.
