Dogpatch Press

Cyan:
Hi Patch. We invited a few members of the F/F Collective board into this chat. Thanks for considering our project newsworthy.

Patch:
Totally cool. I got the impression there’s a physical book happening with it?

Sol:
Yessir!

Patch:
I dig it – is it about furries-who-like-fashion, or fashion-for-furries? Like clothes + furries, or more specifically anthro costuming?

Steezy:
Furries who like fashion. Sometimes fursuit fashion.

Yazoo:
It’s an amalgam of both the fashion savvy and those interested in fashion, whether it’s fandom inspired or otherwise.  So there’s a very nice intersection of people looking for fashion who are in the fandom and creators that provide for the fandom.

Sol:
Its also about giving insight for furries who might want to get into fashion.

Patch:
Oh yay, inspiration. Honestly that would even help me, I love making cool outfits but know nothing about the kind of stuff that people who go to school for the design know.

Sol:
Exactly! We know not everyone understands fashion and it can be intimidating. One of my hopes is that this book (hopefully THESE books) will make fashion look less scary and more inviting.

Patch:
What kind of stuff will the insight cover?

Cyan:
Our original inspiration for the book came from a conversation about how the fashion furs community had yet to produce art book or photographical content like the stuff that Aycee has done with Gummy Guts, or like Brae did with his MLP series. We also noticed that, as far as we know, there have yet to be any photography-based collaborations in the fandom. So the thinking was: “why not both?”

Sol wanted to ground the project in reality, so we set a guideline for artists and photographers to try and list the clothing in their pieces.

Yazoo:
And to note there have been other fashion related fandom look books, which centered mostly around one kind of fashion in relation to fursonas in general.

Patch:
A few years back it caught my eye that photographers were getting inspiration from furry – so I wrote “Five pro photographers advancing the art of furry documentary.”

I was just on google looking up the Gummy Guts book. Doing a book that way is a bit of a new concept to me. I’m in the bigger-publisher way of thinking. Or in fandom that means Furplanet, Sofawolf or Rabbit Valley.

Steezy:
Hmm, I’ve never heard of those.

Yazoo:
They publish mostly furry literature and comics.

Cyan:
You’ve probably seen those books in dealers dens at cons.

We’re definitely a grassroots project. We’re not a company trying to make profit. Instead we’re a volunteer-based project that will use all profit from sales of the book to make the next one even better.

Steezy:
If it does well, we can print more books next time.

Cyan:
And in higher quality.

Patch:
It sounds like for showing off member stuff more than focusing on the other end of users, just because it’s cool and fun to make. For a while I have been saying there should be some focused effort on making like a Taschen book about furries, aimed for the niche interest side of real book stores. That’s a tall order though. A fun project like this seems more on the zine concept.

Cyan:
At this point, F/F Collective is definitely closer to the zine concept.

Steezy:
Specifically photo zines.

Cyan:
Right now we’re focused on collecting final submissions and piecing together a physical product to show people that this is a project that can put out a tangible product in a reasonable time. We made sure to hash out the important details early on in the brainstorming phase, so that when we have our pieces, we can quickly turn them into a physical product.

Patch:
Is it going to be certain chapters inside guidelines (like one thing about fursuits, one about street wear, one about making with fabric) – or just based on interest of whoever submits?

Cyan:
Sol is collating a page list with tentative locations for each artist’s piece right now. We also have some really interesting art being done for the inside cover. He has been managing the project while I’m in school.

Sol:
I’m technically the talent manager, also the talent scouter. Everyone plays their part of course, me and Cyan have done a lot of the ground work and try to make sure everything’s running smooth.

Patch:
Will it include art, and photos, and writing?

Sol:
Not so much writing. We will include an Index of the outfits at the end, but for now we might keep that a surprise! If this first book sells well and we’re able to generate funds for a bigger book we could bring that into the grand scheme of things.

Patch:
It’s great you have a few models of previous books people made. I briefly looked up the Gummy guts book, it looked like good art and sold at least a solid 500 or more copies. I pay attention to how well things sell (even if thats not the point).

At FC I went to a panel with the president of the Furry Writers Guild and got info. Hundreds is a pretty solid number for any furry-published book. A few thousand would be like a top best seller. It’s not yet enough to make fandom publishing be like a “job” for those who do it (it could be cool if it was both job and fun, like it is for a few very successful fursuit makers). Art type books like this are different from fiction too, more of the limited-edition concept. I’ve dealt with some very niche photo book publishers outside fandom who do editions of 500 or 1000. Photo books are hot, they have object value.

Can you tell me more about the concept of a look book?

Sol:
LookBooks are usually just booklets that advertise an upcoming season line. “A collection of photographs compiled to show off a model, a photographer, a style, or stylist or a clothing line.”

Cyan:
I think we’ve been side-eyeing the store structure of bigger players in the fandom such as HyenaAgenda. You can go to their website and buy clothes, posters, stickers/etc.

This look book is more to show off the artists and photographers in this fandom who consider themselves part of the fashion furs community, or at least have an interest in fashion.

Sol:
If look books show off models, photographers, style, and clothing, why cant we toss in original art and some anthros?!

Cyan:
We might get into specific themes later on, in future volumes. If our book inspires members of the fandom to get into fashion, then mission accomplished. There’s already so much variety on display in the WIPs we’ve received.

Yazoo:
The most exciting part of it at least to me is that each and every participant has a different and unique idea of fashion to provide.

Patch:
I could see potential beyond just a book to pair artists, models, and makers who are known for a body of work. Fursuit makers have distinctive styles… get a photographer to set up concept shots and amplify each others talents.

Cyan:
Everyone seems to have their own unique take on -what- constitutes fashion. We’re hoping to show people that there really aren’t any boundaries.

Yazoo:
Photography and illustration alike, people’s inspiration and creativity in outfit design doesn’t ever fall into one category, everyone’s got something different to display.

Patch:
Can you tell me about those unique takes?

Cyan:
Well, I guess you could consider fashion, and an individual person’s take on fashion, to be akin to an artist’s take on their own personal art style. No two are exactly alike.

Patch:
I have a personal take I’d been meaning to write up… like accessorizing for partial fursuiting (there’s more flexibility with outfits than with fullsuiting.)

Yazoo:
Generally when people hear fashion, the first thing they think is “designer”. While designer can be a trend setter for looks and styles, the true value of a look is in the care and interest an individual has in the look they want to achieve.

Cyan:
So some people might be into flowing fabrics with varied textures, while others will be into a more street aesthetic. And even within individual aesthetics, styles vary.

Patch:
Is there crossover with dancer furs? People into dance I have known can be fashion focused.

Cyan:
There’s definitely a crossover.

Yazoo:
Dancerfurs and dancers in general have a pretty fun street style, so they definitely tend to take an interest in fashion. For dance it can be more about the FLASH of the clothes you wear, which some people take into everyday looks. I can definitely say a number of my looks are inspired by dance communities.

Patch:
Is it easy to explain those looks? Or is it best for just seeing in photos?

Cyan:
I think fashion is best explained through photography.

Yazoo:
Illustration as well.

Patch:
One thing I’d be curious about is methods of acquiring… like, I get good stuff from thrifting, hunting ebay/etsy for specific items, occasional DIY stuff like glittering my sneakers and putting on jacket patches, and lastly hunting bargain racks for stuff nobody bought because it’s odd but you can accessorize to make it stand out. Like that one pair of mint green jeans in a huge pile of samey blue.

Sol:
It’s more about what the eyes see and what you feel rather than words.

Cyan:
Note to self: do a 100% thrift photoset at one point or another.

Sol:
We do have some DIY projects. We’re hoping that we can expose people to new places to look for clothing past Nike and Macy’s.

Yazoo:
There’s a very good knowledge base of places people go to find stuff, specific or otherwise in the fashion furs. Anything from thrifting to consignment to Target clearance racks.

Sol:
Some stuff will be dirt cheap, some stuff will possibly make you faint if you check the price tag haha, but all n all it’s diverse.

Cyan:
Also grailed.com. I think it’s incredibly important for outsiders looking in to understand that fashion doesn’t have to be a prohibitively expensive hobby to get into. It’s a slow burn with an incredibly rewarding end result.

Steezy:
I buy so much stuff on sale it’s not even funny.

Patch:
Trying new things is important. Years back I thought fashion = money, when I lived in small towns, and buying online seemed silly for stuff you couldn’t try on, and I didn’t make anything. So I wore the same jeans and plain things. Changing where I lived and looked helped. I still don’t spend tons but taking a chance on a few concept hand designed pieces has been really fun. And it doesn’t have to cost tons to just look for that one piece that makes an outfit and match it with other stuff.

Steezy:
I currently live in a tiny town out in Arizona and a lot of my shopping happens over the web.

Sol:
My brother who kinda started my interest in fashion taught me that just one strong piece can go a long way.

Is there anything you’d like to ask us?

Patch:
I should run, but nice to chat you guys so far.

Sol:
Same to you!!! Thanks for reaching out!

Yazoo:
Yeah this was great!

Cyan:
Thank you for your time!