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Not a cloud in the sky! This year saw huge numbers of visitors make it to the venue once again!
The "Fukuoka Asia Collection 2016 (FACo)" was held on March 20th 2016 at the FUKUOKA CONVENTION CENTER, and announced in style that Spring had finally reached the city! The day of the event was blessed with beautiful Spring weather. And just like previous years, outside the venue you could see fashionistas, finely tuned to all the latest fashion crazes, in which ever direction you turned! The long line to get into the show stretched far outside the venue, just to further underline FACo's popularity.

With a huge crowd desperate for the event to start and excitement filling the air, the show finally got under way! The first section of the show saw "KIMONO PROJECT" take to the runway and they adorned the stage with beautifully glamorous kimonos, which featured designs that drew inspiration from different countries and regions throughout the world. The dignified, composed figures of the models dressed in kimonos, captivated the audience and had everyone's eyes glued to the stage. The curtain raised to the beautiful, traditional Japanese "Kimono," however; the impressive and wonderfully unique FACo opening was not only aimed at Japan, but instead at promoting fashion throughout Asia and the entire world!

On the topic of the fashion show, the lineup included a whole host of popular models. This was FACo's eighth year and 66 popular models were there to make an appearance, including Fukuoka native Mariya Nishiuchi, Elaiza Ikeda, Moe Oshikiri (who not only modeled, but was also one of this year's MCs), Yua Shinkawa, Tina Tamashiro and Ayaka Miyoshi, to name but a few.

The audience simply couldn't take their eyes of them. Dressed in the latest Spring/Summer fashion, it was truly a sight to behold, as the models hit the huge cross-shaped runway! Each pose that the models struck was matched by increasingly loud cheers from the audience inside the venue. There was also 6 live performances from some of the hottest artists out there. Mariya Nishiuchi, fumika, the Kyushu-based idol group LinQ, along with Emi Meyer, lol and EDGE OF LIFE all played powerful and exciting live sets that wowed the audience!

The long-awaited "2nd stage" (2nd section of the event) finally got underway, and featured an appearance on the runway from the "asianbeat・FACo Kawaii Ambassadors." 8 in total, with 2 representatives from China, Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan respectively, they were all selected through the "asianbeat・FACo Kawaii Ambassadors Contest," which is a collaboratory project run by FACo and asianbeat. Looking fabulous in some of the latest items from "LATO ＊ CALLE," "salire," "Arnev," and "camicia," some of the Fukuoka brands that are instrumental in directing what trends you will see in this Spring season, the ambassadors did a fantastic job and weren't afraid to throw in a pose or two! Unaffected by the anxiety that the editorial department were feeling, they proudly strutted their stuff on stage, with bright smiling expressions! Having played a major role in the event, the joyful voices of the Kawaii Ambassadors could be heard saying how much fun it had all been as soon as they stepped off stage. Then together with all the staff they took a huge sigh of relief!

FACo is not just open to Asia, but the whole world. Its distinctively unique program continues to grow and evolve with each passing year, as the Fukuoka fashion scene drives forward, gaining increasing attention along the way. This year over 7,500 participants made it to the venue and were treated to a display of the latest looks that can be found in the spring/summer collections from an array of brands. The event was jam-packed full of excitement and featured 15 brands from Fukuoka. In the "Global Stage" section there were 3 overseas brands, from L.A., Spain and Vietnam.

For those of you who wanted to experience this huge one-day event, which weaved together fashion, music and visuals, but were not able to get to the venue, there's no need to worry... You can catch-up with asianbeat's FACo 2016 After Report!" Starting in Fukuoka, FACo continues to share "real clothes" not just with Asia, but with the entire world! So be sure to keep your eyes on this fashion event!