Elisa A Palomino Perez is a Research Associate at the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center. She has built a multifaceted career spanning over two decades in the fashion industry, holding leadership roles at John Galliano and Christian Dior and heading the Fashion Print department at Central Saint Martins in London. She has also successfully balanced teaching roles across multiple international universities. In 2023, she earned her PhD in Anthropology and Sustainable Fashion from the London College of Fashion, reaffirming her commitment to scientific progress in her field. Her current quest to pursue postdoctoral positions to deepen her knowledge of contemporary academia has led her to become a research fellow at IIAS.
Her research during her time at IIAS will focus on exploring the flow of fish skin material culture between Arctic and SubArctic Native communities between Eurasia and the Americas from the 18th century to the present day. The Native Inuit, Yup'ik, Alutiiq, and Athabascan of Alaska; Siberian Nivkh and Nanai; the Ainu from Hokkaido Island in Japan and Sakhalin Island in Russia; the Hezhe from northeast China; the Scandinavian Saami, and Icelanders all have historical evidence of fish skin production. These Peoples developed specialised harvesting and processing techniques to craft suitable clothing from fish skin, essential for northern climates. The research showcases the cross-cultural exchange of ecological practices and material culture between these communities and beyond. Colonisation significantly altered these relationships, impacting both ecosystems and cultural practices. Despite these challenges, many communities maintained ties to salmon.
Fieldwork conducted across the Arctic, supported by EU Horizon 2020, Fulbright, and Smithsonian fellowships, has provided Elisa with rich interdisciplinary data about fish skin artefacts housed in international museums. Further literature review supported by Kluge, Max Planck, Ca' Foscari and ANAMED fellowships has contributed to enriching her knowledge of the artefacts. Unfortunately, these belongings are frequently interpreted through anthropocentric lenses, overlooking the ties between Natives and the environment.
Her work aims to enrich museum collections and community mapping initiatives. By exploring the cultural, ecological and spiritual relevance of fish skin across different Arctic indigenous groups, it investigates sustainable fish skin practices and traces the historical exchanges between Eurasian regions and America that have shaped fish skin technologies. This comparative analysis highlights Indigenous resilience and adaptation, offering new perspectives on the role of fish skin in both cultural survival and global environmental sustainability, suggesting on the use of fish skin as a material in current fashion markets.
Ultimately, her study aims to reveal the role of fish skin in the global exchange of knowledge and practices. This work contributes to a more inclusive understanding of material culture, advancing sustainable and ethical practices in fashion and museum curation. This cross-cultural and interdisciplinary research aims to elevate Indigenous voices and human-environment interactions by connecting anthropology, sustainable fashion and environmental studies.