AN INSIDE LOOK AT
INDIGENOUS INUIT FASHION BY: MILLA NGUYEN PHOTOGRAPHS: *upper: The KTZ design, right, closely resembles the traditional Inuit garment. (Kieran Oudshoorn/CBC (from book Northern Voices) /Tristan Fewings/Getty Images) *middle: The KTZ Fall 2015 menswear show in London, January 2015. Getty Images lower: 'How dare you use this garment design that was envisioned by my great grandfather,” said Salome Awa (Sima Sahar Zerehi/CBC NEWS)
The Inuits: the trailblazers of arctic culture, and inhabitants of Canada, Alaska, and Greenland. Specifically in Canadian regions, they reside within the Nunavut and Nunavik territories. The Inuit people were a semi-nomadic group who relied on hunting and fishing- their diet consisting of the bow head whale, seals, polar bears, and available berries/ vegetation that they could consume. During the 18th century, many of the Inuit had fallen ill due to the diseases that were brought by colonists which highly increased the mortality rate of the tribe. Though, they adapted by isolating themselves in the deeper regions of ice- taking shelter in what the Europeans called a “hostile hinterland”. In order to survive, they did decide to participate in a mutual agreement of trade with Hudson’s Bay Company where they would provide whale products and bear furs for the Europeans in exchange for supplies. As for the garments that the Inuit wore, prominent materials include the thick fur layer of caribou as well as seal skin blubber.
16
