Arctic Clothing

In the Arctic, sea and land animals provide the raw materials for garments that allow people to hunt and survive in the world's harshest conditions. Arctic Clothing, developed from a conference held at the British Museum, showcases the work of native artists and skin sewers in an exploration of the ways in which clothing connects native societies to the environment and the continuing importance of animals, birds, and fish to these communities.

Essays cover a wide range of subjects, including clothing and identity, the semiotics and function of dress, the significance of birds in Inuit life, ownership of design, and the ways in which creativity has been affected by rapidly changing traditional societies. Fish-skin clothing, the use of caribou and seal hair, wedding dresses, and kayak clothing have rarely been examined and the contributors to Arctic Clothing offer exciting insights on these topics. Contemporary issues include changes in arctic clothing, the importation of manufactured materials, the use of sealskin stencils in art prints, and the adaptation of Native clothing by explorers and for sportswear.