Faculty

We recognize that this is a challenging and uncertain time for everyone. We would like to thank our community for their patience and cooperation as we all work together to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Liza Deyrmenjian

Owner & Dean of The Cut Design Academy

With a distinguished career in the fashion industry that has spanned over thirty years, Liza Deyrmenjian is renowned internationally as an innovator, creator, and entrepreneur. Specialties include her work with emerging designers and brands. Clients have enjoyed features in iconic fashion magazines such as WWD, InStyle, Glamour, and Harper’s Bazaar, and she has personally coached various participants and winners participating in Project Runway.

A visionary with a talent for mentorship, Liza has ushered many young designers to success, even opening the doors for a 13-year-old protegee’s fashion line onto the coveted racks in Nordstrom department stores.

Julie Berg

Head of Fashion Design & Creative Direction

Julie Berg brings 25 years of forward-thinking fashion design and energy-fuelled marketing talent to the table. A product development specialist for both retail and private labels, she’s crafted contemporary designer sportswear and accessories collections for small-sized independent retailers and big brands alike.

Working since the early ’90s with Vancouver’s Neto Leather label, she’s been a creative resource for Canadian retailers Harry Rosen, Bod & Christensen, and Leone, and for US majors such as Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Boston Proper. Travelling across North America and Europe to industry trade shows, Julie has worked with fashion buyers and agencies to assist in marketing positioning and distribution, and with textile mills and tanneries for product development. As a business entrepreneur, she launched her own eco-sportswear label, Know Wear, whose tourism-targeted client list boasted Princess Cruise Lines, BC Ferries and Royal BC Museum, and reached targeted sales projections of $1M in the third year of operation. For the last six years, Julie has served as a full-time professor at prestigious Vancouver art colleges, instructing in both the design and marketing disciplines, ensuring excellent outcomes for the next generation of industry innovators.

Jessica Hsu

Head of Gerber & Technical Pattern Making

Jessica has worked in the fashion industry for almost three decades for brands such as Karma Athletics, Lotuswear Designs Ltd., and Design Group—just to name a few. Currently Jessica is a Senior Technical Pattern Lead at Arcteryx. In addition to Jessica's impressive career, she designs, creates and produces pet wear, uniforms, wedding gowns and other custom formal wear with impressive results. Jessica is an alumni of the prestigious Central Saint Martins School of Design.

Jessica is formally trained in British, Canadian and Japanese pattern drafting techniques. A graduate of LaSalle College, Van Nung University, Chin-Chin Institute of Fashion Design, and the Central Saint Martins University of Art short term fashion Design, Jessica has demonstrated a perpetual drive for excellence and constant growth. While Jessica continues to perfect her craft as a freelance designer, it is her dedication and technical expertise that have made her a highly valued employee, instructor and mentor.

Nikki Renshaw

Head of Global Marketing

After a lifelong passion for art and design, Nikki decided to focus their energy on fashion. They are a graduate of Blanche MacDonald’s fashion design program, and their designs have been featured in Schön Magazine and Folklr Magazine. After graduation Nikki moved on to commission-based work and is now focusing on enhancing their personal brand, as well as teaching and styling.

Mark ‘Marker’ S. den Boer

Head of Graphic Design Program

Alberta University for the Arts (AUArts - originally ACAD) Graduation Council Chair 1990-91 season. Mark has been teaching post-secondary design for 24 years at various colleges in Vancouver. A self-admitted polymath with a computing science background, for 33 years he has been a ‘Hybrid for Hire’, with his own freelance business in Vancouver, providing a host of clients with top quality corporate design, art direction, advertising, product photography & CAD. His European background provides a broad foundation of design aesthetics and art history that he brings to bear during course lectures. Mark is deeply committed to networking amongst the artistic communities to foster resources that make us more effective, stronger and productive.

Dhanya Devan

Senior Design Instructor

Dhanya is a sustainability enthusiast with almost a decade of experience in Design Education.She is passionate about Textiles, Graphic Design,Illustration and Fabric Manipulation.She is an Adobe Certified Professional in Graphic Design and Illustration. She holds a Masters in Fashion Design. Alongside The Cut Fashion Academy, she is also serving as a Digital Illustration Instructor in LaSalle College, Vancouver.

Dhanya has previously served as a Vice Principal & Head of Department in a renowned Design College in India.In addition to being an instructor, she also took part in numerous sustainability initiatives and organised several fashion shows. She was able to bring new perspective to fashion by being an inevitable part of South India's first skytrain fashion show.

Melissa McSorley

Senior Pattern Making Instructor

Following in her mother and grandmother’s footsteps, Melissa chose a career in the fashion industry and has been teaching for the last three years. She is a graduate from the Art Institute of Vancouver’s Fashion Design and Merchandising program. After a successful pattern making internship while in her second-to-last quarter, Melissa started working in the industry three months before graduation. Since graduation, Melissa has been building her skill set in contract pre-production manufacturing, wearing many hats. She also works with her own clients as a seamstress, doing alterations and one-of-a-kind projects.

Divya Deep

Senior Admissions Representative

Divya brings over 10 years' experience in Customer Relations Management, Admissions, and Digital Marketing. She is known for providing personalized guidance and support to applicants, ensuring a smooth admissions process. Passionate about making a positive impact, both professionally and personally, Divya is driven by a desire to help others succeed and achieve their potential goals.

Audrey Wong

Lead Instructor Costume for TV & Film

Born and raised in Vancouver, Audrey has spent 25 years honing her craft in the film industry’s costume department. Her career has encompassed roles across the board, including designer and set supervisor, making her a versatile expert in costume design. With a wealth of experience and insights into all aspects of costume work, Audrey’s deep industry experience and passion for the craft make her an invaluable mentor to students exploring careers in the costume department.

Lyn Edwards

3D instructor

With over 15 years of traditional fashion experience, and a special expertise in performance sports apparel, Lyn is now working to educate the next generation of digital fashion designers. She started her career on the creative design side of the business, reverse engineering garments, and honing her pattern making skills. Lyn quickly embraced the digital 3D fashion revolution. A combined love of functional apparel, graphic design, cut and sew, materials and draping made 3D a perfect career fit. Lyn has worked with Target, Smartwool, The North Face, Under Armour, PVH, Spyder, Eddie Bauer.

Magali Blanc

Fashion Design and Product Dev

Following my bachelor's degree, I studied fashion design in Paris for four years. After graduating, I gained valuable experience as an intern at Vivienne Westwood in London and Vanessa Bruno in Paris, where I specialized in high-end fabrics and knitwear collections. Subsequently, I worked with luxury ready-to-wear brands in Paris, notably contributing to Maje Paris from its inception to significant expansion. During my time at Maje, I managed various product categories, collaborated with fabric mills and suppliers worldwide, and developed a design approach focused on luxury and strategic positioning.

I then joined Zoe Karssen in Amsterdam and Hong Kong, a popular ready-to-wear brand favored by celebrities such as Rihanna and Cara Delevingne. Following this, I served as Head of Design at Les Coyotes de Paris (now Rohe Frame) in Amsterdam. Later, I relocated to North America and played a key role in establishing State of Underdress, a Vancouver-based brand, overseeing all aspects of its development, from concept to production and branding.

Isha Singhal

Senior Instructor

Isha Singhal, with a bachelors of design degree from NIFT ( national institute of fashion design, India) 2012-2016, diploma in fashion styling and image design ( pearl academy, India) 2016-2018. I started my label Isha Singhal Label in 2017-2023, New Delhi, India. Isha is currently studying MBA at university canada west, vancouver, 2023-2024. With over a decade of experience, and a career as a founder and head designer of her own label Isha now is a senior instructor at colleges in British Columbia.

Victor Del Castillo

Senior UX/UI Visual Designer

Victor Del Castillo is a Senior UX/UI Visual designer who graduated from Vancouver Film School (VFS) from the Game Design Program and from the Fine Arts School of Design in Mexico City (EDINBA) as a graphic designer specializing in multimedia and advertising and working as an art and creative director for different brands such as Samsung, Adidas and Aeromexico. He lives and works in Vancouver, Canada as a UX/UI Instructor, teacher, speaker and mentor, empowering and inspiring students at several universities including Vancouver Film School, Cornerstone University, Tamwood and others, he also works as a Senior Artist (UX/UI Designer) at Gearbox Software, for the WWE 2K24 title, working for a former UX/UI Designer at Relic Entertainment/SEGA for the title Company of Heroes 3, previously UX/UI designer at Popreach for the mobile title Payday: Crime War, at Piranha Games for Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries, Cleebo Casino, EA, Hard Rock Casino and other game studios. With 11 years working in the games industry, 15 years working in the advertising, multimedia, and graphic design industry, shipped 12 titles, worked on 15,he's worked for PC/Xbox/PlayStation and mobile titles for the gaming industry, teaching and mentoring since 1999 Victor Del Castillo has received several national and international awards in advertising and games.

Shanna Mair

Head of Costume for TV and Film

Originally from Toronto this Vancouver based designer, has been working in the costume & wardrobe department for 17 years. Shanna’s projects range from commercials, TV, film and print, to include contemporary, period and fantasy. HBO’s “You Me Her”, CW’s “Supergirl” and Netflix’s “Lucifer” are amongst many of the projects she has been fortunate enough to design.

Her creative journey started very young with graphic, interior and visual design which lead her to Capilano University, where she took Costume for film and TV. This career change came about after many years of styling and retail display. Shanna prides herself on her ability to adapt to any project, if it is a commercial or a feature film. She believes that costume design is a vital part of helping an actor realize their character and she hopes to continue this career path to help tell stories through her creativity.

Kam Bhalla

Head of Styling and Events

Kam Bhalla has a passionate association across the scope of fashion, style, social culture, visual storytelling and interior styling. She nurtures these passions in her career as a Personal Stylist. Stacked with over 10 years of styling experience, 8 of these years as a Top Producing Personal Stylist at Nordstrom Vancouver and currently at Holt Renfrew. March of 2023 she became business partners for a new luxury pre-loved boutique. Style Re-issue is a full-circle moment for Kam - combining a love for fashion and environmental sustainability. Kam has a solid reputation for curating a wardrobe for clients one that is accessible, timeless and authentic. Kam is known for her luxury aesthetic, she expertly navigates clients through their events, closets, and home interiors. Kam's styling has been featured on the red carpet, music videos, TV shows, fashion editorials and more. Kam has demonstrated through her work how the transformative power of fashion can inspire and project confidence, self-love and self-expression.

Chay Clayton

Senior Gerber Digital Pattern Making Instructor & Senior Pattern Making Instructor

VCAD Alumni, who has been working at The Cutting Room for two years, pattern making and sample sewing. Chay has been a favorite instructor to many of The Cut's students for the last two years and now enjoys teaching Gerber Digital Pattern Making at The Cut. Chay also was head seamstress at Scissors, a costume creation studio that specializes in creating out of this world garments for film.

NUNO HAN

Head Instructor of CLO 3D

Nuno's career as a pattern maker has backgrounds in physics, fashion design, professional pattern making school, and fashion business in South Korea and Canada. Because of these backgrounds, his patterns are very systematic, scientific, and logical.

Nuno also, has a wealth of knowledge and skills due to various working experiences for women’s wear like outdoor, swim wear, women’s blazer, pants, jacket, yoga wear, draping, grading, marking, sewing, technical sketch, Gerber, CLO3D, Browzwear, Blender and so on(This is why people call me “wizard”). He worked with designer Nova Chiu based in London on a design that was featured in the British Vogue website For the past 2 years, Nuno has been focusing on 3D garment engineering.

Heidi C

Head of Makeup Artistry

Heidi has been a makeup and hair artist in Vancouver since 2010 after leaving her job as a flight attendant. Her journey started from a makeup counter to bridal to commercial. She has worked hundreds of weddings, has been published over three dozen times and is currently agency represented. She worked for many brands on the market, was a trainer with a French luxury brand and is currently a studio makeup artist with another.

Jessica Lockert

Makeup Artistry Instructor

Jessica Lockert has been working full time in the beauty industry since 2011, and as a makeup educator since 2017. She is passionate about helping individuals feel confident by enhancing their natural beauty and mentoring the next generation of artists. Jessica has had the pleasure of working on a variety of fashion shows, film sets, commercial shoots, and with celebrity clients. Some of her notable work includes providing makeup services for: The LPGA Tour, The Medallion Club Awards Gala, Seala, The Port of Vancouver, The BC Nurses Union, Miss Vancouver Pageant, Napolean Perdis Cosmetics, and has been published in over 100+ magazines around the globe along with 8 features. She is excited and honoured to be one of the instructors to teach Makeup Artistry at The Cut Academy.

Samuel Olsen

Nail Technician

Samuel Olsen is a multifaceted artist, specializing in nail extensions, photography, and is the founder of Greasy Zine, Vancouver premiere Fashion, Arts, and Culture Magazine. Graduating at the top of his class in 2019 with a Nail Technician Diploma in hand, Samuel has quickly made a name for himself in the ever evolving industry. Samuel specializes Gel-X extensions and airbrush, and calls That Part Studios his home salon alongside an award winning roster of elite technicians. Additionally, his infamous Nail Glove business has allowed him to make custom creations for stars such as Juno Birch, Lights, Shamir Bailey, and drag race alumni Kendal Gender and Synthia Kiss. Sam can’t wait to meet you and share his knowledge!

Keely Mahon

Senior Makeup and Hair Instructor

I take great pride in honing my skills as a freelance makeup artist and hairstylist since the early 2000s in the picturesque Vancouver, BC. Over the years, I've had the privilege of enhancing numerous faces and creating stunning hairstyles for clients in various industries, including television/film, fashion, bridal, photography, and corporate sectors. My experience spans working with a diverse range of actors, models, hosts, and brides. In addition to my hands-on work, I've had the pleasure of passing on my expertise to budding artists and learning from esteemed mentors. My passion lies in continuous learning, connecting with people, and thriving in my chosen profession. Above all, there's nothing more gratifying than ensuring each client looks and feels their absolute best :)

Shadi Zahiri

Art and Painting Instructor

Shadi Zahiri is a Vancouver-based Iranian Canadian painter, was born in Tehran. She holds a BFA from Art University and an MFA from Alzahra University. Shadi ‘s paintings are often taking inspiration from history, social issues, and human body. She breaks through the limits of traditional representation as a visionary figurative artist in the vivid world of acrylic color. Every brushstroke of acrylic turns into a means of expression. The human figure acts as a gateway to feelings and tales that are difficult to express verbally in Shadi’s works, which is a dance of form and imagination. Shadi has had numerous exhibitions of her works. A few exhibitions are as follows: the Shariati Art Gallery, Arya Art Gallery and Kamalolmolk Art Gallery in Tehran.

Yulia Yakovenko

Art and Painting Instructor

With a passion for nurturing creativity in artists of all ages, Yulia Yakovenko brings background in fine arts and art education to her role as an art instructor. Holding a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Diploma in Art Education (Secondary/Post-Secondary), Yulia has taught drawing, painting, sculpture, and art theory to students from elementary to college levels. She is skilled in guiding students through the creative process, focusing on both artistic techniques and critical thinking, all while encouraging a growth mindset and personal expression. Yulia's teaching approach is centered around helping students develop a sense of ownership over their work. She draws inspiration from nature, using prompts such as objects, models, and lighting to foster careful observation and analysis. Whether working with younger children or advanced students, Yulia adapts her lessons to ensure each student is challenged, supported, and encouraged to explore their artistic potential.