Archaeological evidence indicates that the use of Inuit clothing extends far back into prehistory, with significant evidence to indicate that its basic structure has changed little since. The clothing systems of all Arctic peoples (encompassing the Inuit, Iñupiat, and the indigenous peoples of Siberia and the Russian Far East) are similar, and evidence in the form of tools and carved figurines indicates that these systems may have originated in Siberia as early as 22,000 BCE, and in northern Canada and Greenland as early as 2500 BCE. Pieces of garments found at archaeological sites, dated to approximately 1000 to 1600 CE, are very similar to garments from the 17th to mid-20th centuries, which confirms consistency in the construction of Inuit clothing over centuries.
Beginning in the late 1500s, contact with non-Inuit traders and explorers began to have an increasingly large influence on the construction and appearance of Inuit clothing. Imported tools and fabrics became integrated into the traditional clothing system, and premade fabric garments sometimes replaced traditional wear. Adoption of fabric garments was often driven by external pressure to conform to non-Inuit standards of dress, but many Inuit also adopted fabric garments for their own convenience. These voluntary adoptions were often a precursor to the decline or disappearance of traditional styles.
With an increase in cultural assimilation and modernization at the beginning of the 20th century, the production of traditional skin garments for everyday use declined as a result of loss of skills combined with shrinking demand. Formal schooling, particularly during the era of the Canadian Indian residential school system, was destructive to the ongoing cycle of Inuit elders passing down knowledge to younger generations. Wider availability of manufactured clothing and reduced availability of animal pelts further reduced demand for traditional clothing. The combination of these factors resulted in a near-complete loss of traditional clothing-making skills by the 1990s.
Since that time, Inuit groups have made significant efforts to preserve traditional skills and reintroduce them to younger generations in a way that is practical for the modern world. Although full outfits of traditional skin clothing are uncommon overall, they are still seen in the winter and on special occasions. Many Inuit seamstresses today use modern materials to make traditionally-styled garments, leading to the growth of an Inuit-led fashion movement, a subset of Indigenous American fashion. 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 .
Prehistoric development
Archaeological research on Inuit clothing provides a great deal of insight into the origins of skin clothing system. Individual skin garments are rarely found intact at archaeological sites, as animal hide is highly susceptible to decay, so it is difficult to definitively date the origins of circumpolar skin clothing. Evidence for the earliest origins of the Inuit clothing system is therefore usually inferred from sewing tools and art objects found at archaeological sites.
In what is now Irkutsk Oblast, Siberia, archaeologists have found carved figurines and statuettes at sites originating from the Mal'ta–Buret' culture which appear to be wearing tailored skin garments, although these interpretations have been contested. The age of these figurines indicates that a clothing system similar to that of the Inuit may have been in use in Siberia as early as 22,000 BCE. Prehistoric ivory figurines from the Dorset culture, a Paleo-Inuit culture that lived in what is now northern Canada from approximately 500 BCE to 1500 CE, also appear to show parkas, underpants, and Inuit boots (). Some of these Dorset figures exhibit what appear to be high collars rather than hoods, and it is not clear whether they depict figures with hoods down, or if the parkas worn in that era had no hoods at all.