Out of the remote, snow-covered lands of Nunavut, Canada, five artists are bringing their style and culture to the runways, incorporating their Indigenous tribe’s traditional symbols and materials for the global fashion industry.
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Inspired by Inuit heritage, Hinaani Design stands out as the ultimate modern clothing guru. The company markets the “indie” scene with its colorful styles and intricate symbols. Leggings wrapped in Indigenous tattoo designs, Uluit (crescent-shaped Inuit knives) and letters create a unique look that’s readymade for a night on the town or the tundra.
The company claims to offer the community “a way to wear your culture on your sleeve, so to speak." By producing shirts, hats, headbands and more, the small start-up hopes to bring a bit of Inuit into every fashion scene.
Artists Nooks Lindell, Paula Ikkutaq Rumboldt and Emma Krueger founded the company in 2014 in the small town of Arviat, which has a population of 2,700. They structured their business around the community, lending their support to health organizations and bringing their simplistic yet beautiful designs to events. According to the artists, their business style is simply a continuation of the Nunavut philosophy.
"Times have changed drastically for Inuit in a short amount of time," they told CBC.
“We want to do our part to ensure that our culture continues to endure through all the changes and adaptations to come."
These artists are joined by jewelry crafters Barbara Akoak, owner and founder of Inuk Barbie, and Adina Tarralik Duffy, creator of Ugly Fish. Although Akoak and Tarralik have different styles and interpretations of Inuit jewelry, both artists return to their roots, borrowing from their native land to create intricate pieces.
Akoak, who graduated from the Nunavut Arctic College Jewelry and Metalwork Program, has made a variety of delicate designs using anything from copper and silver to bone, antler, claw and horn.
Unlike most vendors, Akoak says she can’t bring herself to number her creations, preferring instead to name them after friends, family and cultural objects. She told CBC reporters that she does this out of respect for her Alaskan and Greenlandic heritage, which can be seen in her pieces.
“I gave my lines of tunniit or kakiniit earrings each a name; I didn't want to number them. Being numbered has connotations of having no value — (like) the government-issued Eskimo numbers the previous generations before me endured,” Akoak said.
“Nunavut fashion, to me, shows state of mind. Our language, body language, the ceremony of life shows through our hand-made work and fashion.”
Owner of Ugly Fish, a name inspired by her grandmother’s pet name, Duffy has been dedicated to jewelry making since 2008. What began as a hobby, however, soon turned into a life pursuit.
She travels to the seaside and around her city, scavenging for bones, shells and caribou antlers. Some of her most popular pieces are created from whale vertebrae, which she collects, cleans and bleaches.
"It's a new era for Nunavut fashion. People are enthusiastic about wearing things that represent and show off their culture,” Duffy said.
“It's all part of our resilience as Inuit."