Fluffin’ around

Portrait of the torso of a person dressed as a red fox. He is wearing a jean jacket covered in iron-on patches over top of a white shirt and black tie. The fox mask is made of fluffy red fur. The mask has brown ears and a scar over its left eye. He is holding a can of Mountain Dew in his mouth.

Halifax is a red fox from Rochester, New York. He has “not once stepped foot in Nova Scotia.” True to his cunning, fox nature, Halifax has some scars over top of his eye because he just “got a little too cocky” one day.

Close-up of Halifax’s jean jacket, featuring a patch that reads “Stop Reading My Patches.”

Halifax’s favourite patch is the one that says “Stop reading my patches.” “It’s usually the first one people read or the last one,” he said.

A person in a white dragon costume featuring blue detailing on the ears and paws. She is wearing black goggles. Her dragon wings resemble that of a passenger airplane and her tail looks like the back of an airplane as well.

Elle is a Canadian fursuit maker and wearer. Her character, Aurora, is a fluftrodon: a raptor with elements inspired by the fluffy part of paintbrushes. Elle’s character, Aurora, has airplane-inspired modifications. Aurora began her life as an original character online before earning her wings and becoming a physical entity that could be worn out to events.

A person wearing a turquoise head with a large red nose and orange antennae. They have pixelated eyes. There are bat wings and large whiskers connected to the head as well. The person is wearing a black shirt and a WebKinz medallion. They have posed their hands like claws with Kandi bracelets on their arms.

This suit was made by Meatspecimenz who goes by Vierm while in costume. Vierm is named after the Romanian word for “earthworm.” They have tiny earthworms curled up on their face and bat wings attached to their head, but overall are “just a guy.”

Close-up of an armful of Kandi bracelets. The bracelets feature charms such as a rainbow and an alligator.

Vierm came to Furnal Equinox with two armfuls and an additional bag of Kandi bracelets to give out to passersby. They also participated in the Kandi trading event hosted by the convention.

A person in a purple fursuit with black details on the head and legs. They have green stitches on their body. They have pointy white teeth and a protruding pink tongue. The person has green horns on their head and green gauges in their ears. They are also wearing a purple fanny pack.

Cos is the undead Ghoul Kitty of your nightmares. “These are 3D printed and custom modelled,” said Cos of the details on their suit. “If you look at the gauges they’re cats.” They are from Rosemont, Illinois and drove nine hours to get to Furnal Equinox: “I got my passport for this, man.”

A creature’s green eye with a purple pupil. The eye is surrounded by white and pink fabric. In the background the creature’s blue fur is visible.

Stare into the eye of Null the “little monster gloopy thing” created and worn by the artist, Cots Creations. They have been making fursuits for four years. They are especially proud of the drippy (literal drip, but metaphorically works too) effects on the costume because of the time spent stitching every little drop together.

Person dressed in a pink, purple and blue cat head and paws. She is also wearing blue jeans with a pink belt that says “kitty” and a matching white tank top. The person has a blue collar with a trans flag tag that says “she/her.” She has oversized Kandi bracelets on her paws.

Galaxy first purchased her fursuit from Atelier Lunatic right at Furnal Equinox the previous year. “I love being at furry conventions, it’s a really fun time,” she said. “The highlights of my year.” Like Vierm, she has custom Kandi bracelets which she purchased at Canfurence in Ottawa, her hometown.

Close-up of pink and purple paws holding a fake pop can with the words “Dumb Bitch Juice” printed on it.

Galaxy’s can of Dumb Bitch Juice contains a fan inside. As she pretends to sip on the can the fan cools Galaxy’s inner self, a.k.a. the person wearing a fleece-and-foam mascot head in a heated convention centre.

Diamond the bull brands himself as a beefcake (evidently) and a “himbo hoofer.” His fursuit was made by designer Golden Maw, who creates fursuits based on original characters, as well as characters from Bluey, Pokémon and My Hero Academia. The cowbell really works, so you know who to call the next time you need more… nevermind.