User:Premeditated Chaos/Contemporary Inuit fashion

Contemporary Inuit fashion refers to modern fashion designs rooted in the visual and design elements of traditional Inuit culture, particularly the animal-skin clothing worn by the Inuit peoples. Traditional Inuit clothing is a complex system of cold-weather garments which, when worn together, are intended to protect the wearer from the harsh Arctic environment. Historically, garments were made from the hides of native Arctic animals such as caribou, seals, and seabirds.

Archaeological evidence indicates that the Inuit clothing system has prehistoric roots, and has been largely consistent in form and function throughout history. However, a variety of aesthetic techniques developed by the Inuit allowed for a great deal of customization in the outward appearance of garments. Archaeological and artistic evidence since the 15th century indicates numerous changes in the visual style of garments. Around that time, contact with new cultures, as well as the arrival of new materials like cloth and beads hastened the evolution of fashion among the Inuit and made the changes in style more evident to outsiders.

After European colonization of North America ramped up in the 16th century, the use of traditional skin clothing among the Inuit began to decline as a result of shrinking demand and loss of traditional skills. In the 1970s and 1980s, opposition to seal hunting from the animal rights movement led to a significant drop in seal hunting and by extension the availability of sealskin for traditional clothing. Recent efforts by Inuit groups to revive traditional cultural skills have led to a resurgence of traditional Inuit clothing and the development of a contemporary Inuit-led fashion movement.

Inuit clothing and the fashion industry
The intersection between traditional Inuit clothing and the modern fashion industry has often been contentious. Inuit seamstresses and designers have described instances of non-Inuit designers making use of traditional Inuit design motifs and clothing styles without obtaining permission or giving credit. In some cases, the designers have altered the original Inuit design in a way that distorts its cultural context, but continue to label the product as authentic. Inuit designers have criticized this practice as cultural appropriation.

In 1999, American designer Donna Karan of fashion label DKNY sent representatives to the western Arctic to purchase traditional garments, including the distinctive women's parkas known as amauti, to use as inspiration for an upcoming collection. Her representatives did not disclose the purpose of their visit to the local Inuit, who only became aware of the nature of the visit after a journalist contacted Inuit women's group Pauktuutit seeking comment. Pauktuutit described the company's actions as exploitative, stating "the fashion house took advantage of some of the less-educated people who did not know their rights." The items they purchased were displayed at the company's New York boutique, which Pauktuutit believed was done without the knowledge or consent of the original seamstresses. After a successful letter-writing campaign organized by Pauktuuit, DKNY cancelled the proposed collection.

In 2015, London-based design house KTZ released a collection which included a number of Inuit-inspired garments. Of particular note was a sweater with designs taken directly from historical photographs of a Inuit shaman's unique parka. The shaman, Ava, designed the parka in the 1920s, and various stories exist to explain its intricate designs. Bernadette Driscoll Engelstad has described the parka as "the most unique garment known to have been created in the Canadian Arctic." Ava's great-grandchildren criticized KTZ for failing to obtain permission to use the design from his family. After the criticism was picked up by the media, KTZ issued an apology and pulled the item.

Some non-Inuit brands have made efforts to work with Inuit designers directly. In 2019, Canadian winterwear brand Canada Goose launched Project Atigi, commissioning fourteen Canadian Inuit seamstresses to each design a unique parka or amauti from materials provided by Canada Goose. The designers retained the rights to their designs. The parkas were displayed in New York City and Paris before being sold, and the proceeds, which amounted to approximately $80,000, were donated to national Inuit organization Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK). The following year, the company released an expanded collection called Atigi 2.0, which involved eighteen seamstresses who produced a total of ninety parkas. The proceeds from the sales were again donated to ITK. Gavin Thompson, vice-president of corporate citizenship for Canada Goose told CBC that the brand had plans to continue expanding the project in the future. Project Atigi has been criticized by some Inuit designers for not being sufficiently publicized to potential applicants.

Inuit-led design
In 1914, the arrival of the Canadian Arctic Expedition in the territory of the previously-isolated Copper Inuit prompted the virtual disappearance of the unique Copper Inuit clothing style, which by 1930 was almost entirely replaced by a combination of styles imported by newly immigrated Inuvialuit and European-Canadian clothing such as the Mother Hubbard dress.

For example, in the 1920s, whaling ships brought styles from the Uqqurmiut Inuit of south Baffin Island to the Tununirmiut Inuit in the northern part of the island.

Beginning in the 1990s Pauktuutit began to promote Inuit fashion outside of the Arctic by collaborating with Canadian museums, exhibitions, and festivals to showcase Inuit-designed garments. The response to these events was positive, and in 1998, Pauktuutit launched a program called "The Road to Independence", which aimed to provide Inuit women with the skills to design, produce, and sell garments in the contemporary fashion industry, in order to promote their economic independence. The program was successful, but raised concerns that the amauti might be appropriated and genericized by non-Inuit, in the same way that the kayak, the parka, and to some extent even the kamik boot have.

In 2001, following concerns raised by the Road to Independence project and the subsequent DKNY controversy, Pauktuutit launched the Amauti Project, which aimed to order to explore potential methods for legally protecting the amauti as an example of traditional knowledge collectively owned by all Inuit women. After consultation with numerous Inuit seamstresses, the project released a report which concluded, "All Inuit own the amauti collectively, though individual seamstresses may use particular designs that are passed down between generations." To safeguard that collective cultural ownership, Pauktuutit has lobbied the Canadian federal government and the World Intellectual Property Organization to create a special protected status for the amauti, but as of 2020, no such protection has been established.

designers such as Rannva Simonsen began to create and sell

Sewing workshop Skaeven in Greenland Early Inuit fashion see p 146 Arctic Clothing And the next article in same


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