Victoria Kakuktinniq
Canadian Inuk fashion designer / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Victoria Kakuktinniq (born 1989) is a Canadian Inuk fashion designer from Nunavut.[1][2] Under her label Victoria's Arctic Fashion, Kakuktinniq hand-stitches clothing such as parkas, kamiit (winter boots), and other accessories.[3] Her work has been described as a major influence in contemporary Inuit fashion.[4][5][6] Kakuktinniq has described her work as a means of preserving Inuit traditional skills of sewing and clothing production, which has historically been a significant aspect of Inuit culture.[3][7][8] In particular, she advocates for handmade fur garments as sustainable fashion.[9]
Kakuktinniq works in a combination of modern and traditional materials, including leather, sealskin, and fox fur.[10][11] Her parkas incorporate elements of traditional Inuit clothing, drawing in particular from the amauti, a woman's overcoat with a curved hem and voluminous hood.[1][12] Modern elements include asymmetrical zippers, corset-style lacing, and colour-blocking.[11]
Kakuktinniq, who is from Rankin Inlet, began designing parkas in 2012 after completing Miqqut, a cultural literacy program from Ilitaqsiniq (Nunavut Literacy Council), in which Inuit elders teach sewing skills to younger participants.[1][12][13][14] She graduated from the fashion design program at MC College in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 2013 and began selling designs at trade shows and using social media.[7][15] In 2015 her label was named Business of the Year at the Nunavut Trade Show & Conference.[16] She opened her first shop in Iqaluit in 2017.[13][17]
Kakuktinniq has showcased designs at numerous fashion shows in Canada and abroad. Her first major show was What to Wear in the Winter at the Winnipeg Art Gallery (2015).[18] She presented a Spring/Summer collection at International Indigenous Fashion Week, a feature event at Paris Fashion Week (2019). Kakuktinniq collaborated with other Inuit designers who provided jewellery, accessories, and footwear for her outfits.[5][19][20] Later that year, Kakuktinniq co-produced Upingaksaaq Fashion Show in Iqaluit, which featured Inuit designers.[21] In 2020, she presented a Fall/Winter collection at New York Fashion Week (NYFW).[20] She was one of five artists chosen to design a pair of mukuks for the Manitobah Mukluks 2021 Artist Series.[22]
In 2022, Kakuktinnniq partnered with winterwear brand Canada Goose on a capsule collection for the third iteration of Project Atigi, their collaboration line with national Inuit organization Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami.[23] Kakuktinnniq had been invited to work on the original iteration, but declined to focus on her brick and mortar store in Iqaluit.[9] The advertising campaign for the collection featured Inuit women as models: throat singer Shina Novalinga, actress Marika Sila and model Willow Allen.[23] Parkas from this collection were displayed at Iqaluit Airport in July 2022 for an exhibit curated by the Culture and Heritage department of the Government of Nunavut.[24]
Kakuktinniq presented at NYFW in 2024.[25]