Heather Akou is an associate professor of fashion design and merchandising in the School of Art, Architecture + Design at Indiana University (Bloomington), affiliated with the African studies program, Islamic studies program, and the department of anthropology. She has published in a range of journals and anthologies including Fashion Theory, Contemporary Islam, Fashioning Africa, and Contemporary African Fashion. Her monograph, The Politics of Dress in Somali Culture, was published by Indiana University Press in 2011. She is currently co-editing an anthology on the role of museum collections in the study of African fashion.