Instructors
“In fashion, success is not measured by how much your label is recognized but, rather, it is measured by your longevity in the apparel business. Fashion design has shaped who I am as a person and allowed me to control my own fate today.”
— Chris Falcon
Chris Falcon is a visionary, an accomplished bridal designer, a fashion entrepreneur, and a technical fashion educator with over 35 years of experience in the apparel industry. He designed for Toronto’s Sposa Bella in the early 90’s, and he created his own first bridal collection at the young age of 17. His most famous client to date? Celine Dion. Chris Falcon made history in 1999, when he was the first Canadian Designer from Vancouver to attend the Academy Awards. In the same year, he also unveiled his largest Fall/Winter Bridal Collections at Canada Place, with over 200 models on the runway. Before Vancouver Fashion Week arrived on the scene in 2000, Chris Falcon was also the first and only original designer/producer in BC to create the concept of promoting local fashion designers by using high-end professional models for the Vancouver Ready-to-Wear Fashion Show Inc. The fashion show, “Fashion Evolution”, was held on Sunday, October 24, 1999, at the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre.
His work has been featured in numerous TV and radio shows, national magazines and newspapers throughout Canada, including Vancouver Magazine, Toronto Star, The Vancouver Sun, The Province, Winnipeg Free Press, The Canadian Press, The North Shore News, The Georgia Straight, STYLE, Sing Tao Daily, Where Vancouver, 97 Kiss FM, CBC Radio, BCTV, VTV, Fairchild Television, and Fairchild Radio.
“I learned very early on in my career, it is all about trust in the fashion business. If I cannot trust someone then I choose not to work with them.”
— Chris Falcon
After completing his 2 years training at the Toronto International Academy of Merchandising and Design College in Toronto, Chris Falcon started his early design career as an assistant designer working for Sposa Bella in Toronto. While he was working in the bridal industry, he also did freelance work for various private fashion houses and leather companies in Ontario. Throughout the years, Chris Falcon has worked with many big fashion houses and labels, such as Esprit, United Colors of Benetton, Club Monaco, Stormtech Performance, Levi Strauss & Co., Mount Cashmere Inc., The Golden Furs & Leather Inc., Koret, Mr. Jax, etc. Occasionally, in his spare time, he does freelance contract work for the movie industry, as well as private label bridalwear, sportswear, athleticwear, leather wear and knitwear companies in BC.
As a technical fashion educator, he spends a lot of his time travelling, sourcing, researching, and building relationships with his contacts overseas in the garment manufacturing and wholesale distribution business. Currently, he is selling his wholesale clothing product in Jakarta, Indonesia. In addition, Chris Falcon likes to stay one step ahead of his competitors in the fashion industry by developing new ideas and techniques for his craft. Furthermore, he has travelled and built a large network of contacts in cities like Toronto, Montreal, New York, Amsterdam, Paris, Lyon, Brussels, Zurich, Tokyo, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Washington DC, Baltimore, Richmond, San Diego, Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Saigon City, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Vung Tau, Cam Ranh, Hoi An, Phu Quoc, Hanoi, Phnom Penh, Jogjakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Bali, Jakarta, Yangon, Vientiane, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Singapore, Macao, Beijing, Shanghai, Manila, Cebu, Boracay, Davao City, Taipei, Nanjing, Jiangsu, Hangzhou, Hua Hin, Pattaya, Cape Town, Johannesburg, etc.
“Life is very fragile and short, therefore, if I have the opportunity to share and pass on my knowledge, experience, contacts and expertise to my clients, this is the legacy I want to leave behind when my time expires.”
— Chris Falcon
Stenly Lie graduated in 2008 from Binus University, Jakarta, Indonesia with a 4 years Bachelor Degree in graphic design. He has also completed a 2 years fashion design diploma at Sanly’s Fashion School in Jakarta, Indonesia. Stenly has over 10 years of graphic design experience and he has worked with many high-profile business brands in Jakarta such as Red Army Watches Indonesia, Seven Friday, Binus University, PT Markplus Inc., and Saputra Jaya Wholesale Fashion. Stenly is also a fashion entrepreneur and he has many years of experience running and operating a wholesale apparel business in Indonesia. He has vast knowledge in the fashion industry and a huge web of network of contacts in Jakarta’s fashion wholesale business. Currently, Stenly is teaching fashion illustration, sewing, graphic design, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, CorelDraw, fashion croquis templates, Tech pack, Richpeace’s computer drafting and grading at Vancouver Sewing Classes (VSC). Furthermore, he also does freelance graphic design contract work on the side designing and creating private logos, labels, letterhead, business cards, promotional flyers, packaging designs, garment Tech Pack, and fashion illustrations for his discretionary clientele.
“I am very honoured to be a fashion instructor at VSC. I hope to inspire many people to become creative and innovative with their design.”
