Fursuit fans preen themselves for Berlin meet-up

Fans of anthropomorphic arts and performance arrived in Berlin this week for their annual meet-up. Eurofurence, which climaxed on Sunday, is a chance for people to role play their favorite animals, similar to medieval re-enactors.

Eurofurence is not a new event. It's been running in Berlin since 1995 and is part of an international movement of fur lovers. The concept was born in the US fifteen years earlier, and thanks to fanzines — way before the internet and smartphones — quickly grew large enough allow the first Confurence to be staged in California in 1989.

A four-star Berlin hotel may not be their natural habitat, but many of the "animals" quickly made themselves at home and won new friends. Many of the outfits were tailor-made and cost thousands of euros.

This year's attendees in Berlin included science-fiction fans, but also animators, costume designers, puppeteers and musicians. Organizer Oliver Groch explained the importance of dressing up: "It's about creating the most visual representation of the character as possible, which I can't do in my human form."

Fans dressed as furry horses, dragons, monkeys, hares and even mooses. Some of the attendees described how dressing up makes them "feel free." Although Eurofurence may have similarities to Carnival, the western German festival held before Lent that also involves dressing up as animals, there was a lot less alcohol involved.