Hi, I’m Max Philips, the creator behind Fifi LaBouche. For nearly 20 years I’ve had a dream of making Fifi LaBouche a successful business. Something I could sustain myself with. Something I’m proud of. Something I’m passionate about. So far it’s only been a hobby, but I’m hoping you can help me change that. Rather than trading my time to some mind-numbing corporate role, I’d rather be pouring my creativity and passion into making fun, queer, tees for all of you.
What is Fifi LaBouche?
So, what is Fifi LaBouche? It’s a place to find fun, queer tees. The idea came to me in a flash one day—why not take my love for the funny, quirky, and absurd, and put it on T-shirts? (And, yes, I used em dashes in my writing. Always have and always will. I can assure you this is 100% human written. No AI was used.)
Over the years I’ve tried different models with Fifi to try and make this more than just a hobby. For a while I screen printed shirts by hand—what a disaster. It’s time and labor intensive and not worth the effort in my opinion. I’ve tried incorporating LGBTQ+ news into the site, and creating Pride playlists. But I’m not a journalist nor a music muse. All of these things are distractions. I’m just a humble graphic designer who loves making T-shirts. So, that’s what I’m focusing on: Fun, queer tees.
All of our tees are designed by me and manufactured via Printful, a print-on-demand company with fulfillment centers worldwide.
Why Fifi LaBouche?
Honestly, I don’t know. Like I said, the idea came to me in a flash one day. The name “Fifi LaBouche” just popped into my head. I had no idea where it came from. Later I learned that it means “Fifi the Mouth” in French. Since I don’t speak French, it was quite a surprised. But, it seemed like a fun name, so I went with it. I began to imagine Fifi as a French drag queen, doing her best to make her way in the world. Yet, somehow, the imagery of Fifi as a pink poodle ended up coming to fruition, and that’s what’s stuck. So, is Fifi a fabulous queen from Paris, or a sassy, snarky pink poodle? Who knows. Maybe we’ll never know. What I do know is that Fifi would tell you, “Buy more tees” and leave it at that.
My pledge
I want to make this pledge to you right now. I will never, ever use AI in any part of the creation of products or marketing for Fifi LaBouche. Everything you see and read here is 100% human made. In fact, these words you are reading now were started as pen to paper, all written by me. And—more importantly—all of the T-shirt designs you see from Fifi are 100% created by me. I never have, and never will, use AI for any part of my design process for Fifi LaBouche.
Final thoughts
Why is what I, and creators like myself, do so important? It’s because we’re living in a world that—now more than ever—is continually trying to erase the LGBTQ+ community. Creating queer art and putting it out into the world is so important. It lets the world know, “we’re here, we’re queer, we’re not going anywhere.”
Also, we just need more whimsy in the world. So, buy more tees and spread queer joy. The world needs it now more than ever.