Thread by @SocksFur

Ok, delurking to make a small tweet thread here. Earlier I posted as part of #FursuitAppeciationDay, then I saw #FursuitMakerAppeciationDay, and did some looking into it and realized I had missed the reason WHY those are trending. So a few thoughts on *ahem* "designer fursuits"

If you're as clueless as I am, a company called @Zweitesich is making "designer fursuits" with branding displayed prominently on the cheek. They're also asking a hefty price of $6K a suit for some interpretive anthro designs.

Needless to say, this does not bode well in furry.

The line that really irked people was this, from the @Zweitesich website, basically as a slap to the face of every other fursuit maker out there.

As of this typing, it's been removed from the website, but the damage is done and it's worth talking about.

Just for this I dove into my pic bin, these are some pics from @Furfest 2002. Yeah, these were pretty much the parade suits that year. Having a fursuit meant you knew someone or you made it yourself out of what you had.

Either way, we were all designers of our own suits, really.

Fast Forward to @FurFest 2005, there were more makers but a LOT of people trying to DIY their own. Again, we designed our own.

(the dog is mine, a "toy" concept, and yes I stole @Alkali_Bismuth hat for this pic before it was cool to do it #hipsterdog)

2007 @FurFest and I got my rabbit fursuit from @FursuitsByLacy. This is the first year I remember the parade getting huge (Last photo by DexCat). They were built by VERY talented makers, but we designed them ourselves.

(Side note, the sign is still my favorite ever parade gag)

I wore the fur offa Skuff too, I got about 10 years of fun out of that bunny, Cons, Went to @mkepride, several halloweens and NYE dates...

(If Lacy ever sees this, 10+ years for a costume is pretty rad, just sayin'...)

2016, the last year @FurFest did a parade. (And looking at this pic, you can see why it's a Menagerie now...) And each one of these suits was hand made by a professional fursuit maker, or an amateur, or even the fursuiter themselves with love and care.

This year I got to do something I've wanted to do for a long time, to flesh out Chris Mouse. Concept art from @NeonSlushie, suit made by @MenagerieWorks based on a concept I had been kicking around for a decade.

And I got to perform in the #FurfestFVS as Chris too!

And here's where I finally get out of nostalgia and into the point.

Here's that 2015 @Furfest pic again. Each suit you see was made by someone and has meaning to them. Or they bought it second hand and are giving it new life. But they have meaning, not branding.

One thing I learned in mass media is the idea of "branding". It's not selling a product, it's selling a feeling, a status. Or as it's been better put in an article from @tribedesign (tribedesign.com/services/tribe…) It's making a brand name have inherent value, so people seek it out.

This is probably why @Zweitesich features their logo so prominently on the suits, so that it's visible. The perception is it's a status symbol like Louis Vuitton or Porsche or Gucci. But value doesn't work like that. Especially in a culture that celebrates originality.

Whats funny is that with a little time in the fandom, you can spot the differences between something like a @mixedcandy, @DontHugCacti, @MadeFurYou or a @lemonbrat suit without their logo plastered on it. And that's the point here.

The furry fandom is unique in that we aren't fans of a specific media series, character, licence or anything corporate. We are fans of our own creativity. As such if we get a fursuit, we want a one distinctly OUR OWN, not be a walking billboard for manufactured status symbols.

This is why I think there was the backlash, and why we're all standing up to have an impromptu #FursuitMakerAppeciationDay. So let's do just that, let's celebrate not just the pros, but the furry who's hand stitching their first tail or learning how Simplicity patterns work.

Because in the end, we are ALL designers of our own creations. We may rely on others to help us bring it to life, but in the end we celebrate the creator, the creation, and the act of creativity. We shouldn't lose sight of that.
(fin)