Elaine Yuen, Ph.D.

Yee Lin Elaine Yuen, Ph.D., earned a doctorate in communication and information from Kent State University in 2025. Her doctoral research used design-based research to test pedagogical interventions that help fashion students interpret traditional dress and prevent cultural appropriation through objects from a university museum collection.

Yuen also holds a Master of Fine Arts in theatre studies with a concentration in costume design and a Master of Fashion Industry Studies from Kent State, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in fashion and textile studies from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her master’s thesis examined the role of headwear in 21st-century fashion, with inspiration drawn from Eastern and Western traditions.

Before beginning her doctoral studies, Yuen spent more than a decade as a knitwear and sweater designer in Hong Kong, developing collections for international labels in the United States, Europe and Japan. Her industry experience includes trend analysis, technical design, heritage craft, millinery, costume design, museum curation and cultural object interpretation.

Yuen has taught at Miami University and across several academic areas at Kent State, including fashion, information, and theatre and dance. Her research interests include culturally responsive teaching strategies in fashion, object-based and problem-based learning with university museum collections, and the reinterpretation of heritage craft to support cultural sustainability.