the skills necessary to make Inuit skin clothing were in danger of being completely lost. Since that time, Inuit groups have made significant efforts to integrate traditional sewing skills into modern Inuit culture, and cultural material is now taught in many northern schools and cultural literacy programs. Sewing is now seen by many as a method for connecting with Inuit culture. Incorporating modern techniques and purchasing materials commercially reduces the time and effort needed for garment production, lowering barriers for entry. Although full outfits of traditional skin clothing are uncommon in day-to-day life, they may still seen in the winter and on special occasions. Many Inuit seamstresses today use modern materials to make traditionally styled garments, particularly . Since the 1990s, some seamstresses have begun to create fashionable garments for sale to consumers, supporting contemporary Inuit fashion as its own style within the larger indigenous American fashion movement. In light of the growing interaction between Inuit clothing and the fashion industry, Inuit groups have raised concerns about the protection of Inuit heritage from cultural appropriation and prevention of genericization of cultural garments like the . Research and documentation There is a long historical tradition of research on Inuit clothing across many fields. Since Europeans first made contact with Inuit in the 15th century, documentation and research on Inuit clothing has included artistic depictions, academic writing, studies of effectiveness, and the collection of artifacts for museums. Historically, European images of Inuit were sourced from the clothing worn by Inuit who travelled to Europe (whether voluntarily or as captives), clothing brought to museums by explorers, and from written accounts of travels to the Arctic. The earliest of these was a series of illustrated broadsides printed after an Inuit mother and child from Labrador were brought to the European Low Countries in 1566. Other paintings and engravings of Inuit and their clothing were created over the following centuries. 19th century techniques such as photography allowed for a wider dissemination of images of Inuit clothing, especially in illustrated magazines. From the 18th century until the mid-20th century, explorers, missionaries, and academics described the Inuit clothing system in memoirs and dissertations. After a decline in the 1940s, serious scholarship of Inuit clothing did not pick up again until the 1980s, at which time the focus shifted to in-depth studies of the clothing of specific Inuit and Arctic groups, as well as academic collaborations with Inuit