Karl Aspelund, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Textiles Fashion Merchandising and Design at the University of Rhode Island and has been a designer, artist, and teacher for over 20 years in apparel, theater, film and digital media. He received his PhD in Anthropology and Material Culture from Boston University, University Professors Program, where his dissertation on women's national dress practices in Iceland was awarded the University Professor's Edmonds Prize for Best Doctoral Dissertation of the Academic Year 2010-2011. Aspelund's research interests are in the field of apparel design and personal and national identity creation.