Expert teachers with industry experience to help you bring your creativity to life.

Tunku Adhikari
Tunku Adhikari brings not only a wealth of experience, but also a passion for design to the classroom. After studying Art History and Design and a Diploma in Fashion Design from the National Institute of Fashion Technology in India, Tunku launched Azuli Design Studio, working with some of the biggest names in the Indian fashion industry, and has been featured in international fashion publications such as Elle, Fashion L’officiel and Society Fashion. Tunku teaches design, advanced patternmaking, draping and advanced garment construction to the Diploma and Advanced Diploma students, and believes in sharing his experiences and skills to prepare them for a career in fashion.

Vicki Nicola
Vicki Nicola’s career in the fashion industry spans over twenty years, the last ten years of which have included working in fashion education. A highly experienced technical designer and pattern maker, Vicki has worked for high recall Australian fashion brands, as well as having had her own design label and brand which was retailed through boutiques Australia wide. Vicki is passionate about the Industry and loves teaching. Her research and interests include monitoring global trends and development across the fashion world including areas such as forecasting, new technologies, costing, design and sustainability.
Nigel Eru
Nigel Eru has over 15 years of experience in developing and growing market leading brands that have included Pacific Brands, Line 7 and Bendon. As an educator and trainer at Kangan Institute, Nigel believes in sharing his passion and values with his students and imparting them with skills that will enable their success in the world of fashion design and merchandising. Starting his career as an auditor for EY in New Zealand, Nigel fast discovered his true calling and joined Bendon to follow his passion for design. With an avid interest in Lean methodologies, continuous product and process improvement and a focus on improving manufacturing efficiency, Nigel teaches Kangan Institute’s fashion business and merchandising students how to best navigate the world of fashion merchandising and how to stand out from the crowd.

Michael Fenemore-Cocks
Michael delivers a range of subjects that include consumer behaviour, advertising, sustainability, product strategy and international trade. Michael’s varied and extensive industry experience includes four years with Global Savile Music and Media, and he currently also works with the Kingston Community Centre as their Chief Marketing Manager. Having previously taught a range of business subjects at Swinburne University of Technology, The International Design School and RMIT, Michael is one of the lead educators in the field of Fashion Business. Passionate about teaching and assisting students in understanding how a fashion brand needs to be developed, marketed and managed, Michael works closely with the students not only as a teacher but also as a mentor.

Anne Mountjouris
A graduate of the Fashion Design and Production programme at the prestigious Emily McPherson College in Melbourne, Anne Mountjouris brings extensive industry experience and a passion for fashion to the faculty. With over 37 years’ experience as an independent designer and business owner, Anne worked at the forefront of the fashion industry with her exclusive evening wear brand, Veronica Lodge. Anne turned her attention and focus to teaching the next generation of designers, as she believes in sharing not only her passion, but also the wealth of knowledge accumulated through her years working in the industry. Anne currently teaches Fashion Design at Kangan Institute.

Serena Lindermann
Serena Linderman discovered her passion for millinery in 1993 and has played an important role in the development and growth of the millinery industry in Melbourne, and Australia ever since. A successful career has seen Serena travel and work across the world with London, Dubai, China, Japan and the USA just a few of the places where she has designed and consulted. 2003 saw Serena begin her career as an educator in the millinery and design space at Kangan Institute. Her high standards and work ethic, coupled with her desire to foster creativity and originality in her students makes her an invaluable member of the team.

Melissa Jackson
Melissa Jackson, internationally renowned for her innovative and contemporary millinery creations also teaches at Kangan Institute’s Centre for Fashion and Creative Industries. Melissa’s formal training includes degrees in Fashion Design from Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design in London, Textile Design from RMIT and Music from Melbourne University. Melissa draws on her successful business and educational experience to teach fashion design, textile design, fashion merchandising and millinery, while continuing to create stunning headpieces for the who’s who of the fashion world.

Jane Vandermeer

Responsible for delivering skills and knowledge in design, styling and couture, Jane Vandermeer has over 20 years of industry experience working with premium fashion brands. Jane has been extensively involved in working with the fashion industry to deliver training workshops on fashion forecasting, product development and purchasing, while working with some of Australia’s leading fashion designers to help design, source and develop fabrics for their labels, as well as owning and operating a successful design business catering to high profile clients. Jane works closely with the fashion design and fashion business students, imparting her learnings as a leading fashion buyer and sourcing expert.

Kate Carroll
Kate Carroll is one of the key founders of the Diploma of Visual Merchandising at Kangan Institute, and has over 15 years of experience working in the field. Having worked in the Visual Merchandising industry across a range of functions, Kate brings a broad skill set to her role as a senior educator. She continues to work closely on developing strong industry partnerships that will provide the students with valuable real life experience, as well as teaching and mentoring students while always thinking about the evolution of the course and how best the students could best benefit from her experiences.
Ron Watkins
Ron Watkins has played an essential role in the emergence of the Visual Merchandising industry in Australia, and has been awarded and recognised for the same. Passionate about his role as a mentor to emerging visual merchandisers, Ron is responsible for working closely with industry partners like MYER and creating opportunities for student to gain real life skills by working on projects that see them dress the MYER store windows at key times through the year. Ron specialises in design, colour, theming, professional practice, illustration, fine art and product development, but considers his most important role to be that of a mentor and educator.
Tomce Cergovski
Tomce Cergovski is a leading Visual Merchandiser and display strategist with a broad range of experience that includes working as the National Visual Merchandising Manager at Ishka, Jigsaw Australia and managing his own company, Visually Pleasing. Having studied Design and Visual Communications at RMIT University, Tomce is deeply passionate about the industry and believes in teaching his students the very latest trends and techniques that will assist them in building displays across a wide range of retail industries. Tomce specialises in VM strategies, window concepts and creative direction as well as establishing processes and procedures for successful Visual Merchandising in various businesses.
Bree Mangione
With over 13 years of experience in the hairdressing, retail and training industry, Bree is a highly skilled Colourist and Stylist who is extremely passionate about hair training. Having completed advanced training with L’Oréal, American Crew, Goldwell, Global Keratin, Wella, Amore Hair Extensions and Aveda, Bree has also worked in some of Melbourne’s top salons. Bree believes in continual education and strives to stay at the forefront of her field with her knowledge of new products and services in order to provide excellence in service to her clientele and students.
Ada Cooper
With over 27 years of experience in the beauty industry, Ada Cooper not only brings considerable experience to her classrooms but also a passion for training the next generation of beauty therapists and passing on the skills and knowledge gained through working in industry, running her own business and teaching for the past 11 years. Having undertaken a Diploma of Beauty Therapy, a Diploma of Vocational Education and a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, Ada has a long history of working alongside industry professionals and believes in training her students to not only provide the very best in beauty services, but also exceptional customer service skills. Her dedication is evident in the quality of students graduating from her classes and their success.
Dean Pethick
Dean Pethick has been a lead Visual Merchandising instructor and educator at Kangan Institute’s Centre for Fashion and Creative Industries for over 6 years, and spent 10 years at RMIT prior to that. Dean brings his experience, fine eye for design and a lot of passion to the Visual Merchandising studio and workshop, where he trains students whose aim is to join the dynamic industry. With over 40 years of experience, Dean has worked with some of the most prestigious retail businesses in Australia that include David Jones, MYER, the Aherns Stores and has also spent time working at the Buffins department store in the US.
Some or all of this training is delivered with Victorian and Commonwealth Government funding
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