ROM Skins

Aluki wears clothing inspired by this Nunavimiut sealskin parka. Sealskin is an important material for making clothes that keep the wearer warm and dry in harsh winter conditions. Though you usually can't see it, she is also wearing a Paallirmiut inner parka underneath. The inner parka is made of caribou skin and decorated with glass beads in intricate designs.

• Learn more about the outer parka

• Learn more about the inner parka

Kimalu wears clothing inspired by this Nunatsiarmiut caribou skin parka. The hair of the inner parka faces the skin, and the hair of the outer parka faces out, trapping air and keeping the wearer warm and dry. Most of Kimalu's inner parka is beneath her outer one, but the hood of her outer parka is down so you can see the the beaded hood of the inner parka partly covering her head. Sometimes a woman might carry her baby in a pouch just below the hood on her back.

• Learn more about the outer parka

• Learn more about the inner parka

Kwame's outfit is made from a cloth called Kente. The kente that inspired this pattern was made sometime in the 1960s. Traditionally, men and female elders wear it a bit like a toga, and most women wear it as an upper and lower body wrap, but kente cloth is used in many ways in a wide variety of clothing styles for both men and women today. Kwame wears his with beads, sandals, and a personal fitness tracker.

Marie is inspired by the ROM's copy of this famous portrait of Marie de' Medici painted by Fras Porbus the Younger around 1606. Marie became the Queen of France when she married King Henry IV of France. The fine lace on her dress, the many pearls in her dress and her jewellery, and the diamond drops covering her dress clearly show observers this is a lady with privilege and power.

A chapan is an outer robe or coat worn by men and women in many parts of Central Asia. Sahar's chapan is inspired by this one from the ROM's collections, and she wears it over a white shirt and jeans, with an embroidered cap on her head.

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Deepa is inspired by this painted photograph of a woman in a blue sari. This photograph was taken about 1900 CE, and then painted over by an unknown artist. The woman wears a blue sari over a Victorian-style lace blouse, and gold jewellery was added with paint by the artist.

• Learn more about the painted photo