Fans looking for a unique way to show their love for their fandom ships need to look no further than the stylish and clever “Ask Me About My Ship” T-shirt collection created by artist Fox Estacado.
Each shirt displays the words “Ask me about my ship” on the front—sometimes with art that nods to a specific fandom—and can be lifted to reveal fanart of a couple from that fandom underneath. There are 11 shirts included in the series so far featuring a range of relationships like Sherlock‘s Johnlock, The Avengers‘ Stucky, and The X-Files‘ Mulder and Scully.
Estacado’s latest release in the collection is a Stormpilot shirt inspired by Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ Finn and Poe that is now available for preorder on her website. Estacado told the Daily Dot in an email interview that she only recently saw the movie and especially loved the two characters.
“The film was so generous with Finn/Poe moments—Poe giving Finn his name, their excellent teamwork to escape the First Order, Finn keeping Poe’s jacket when he thought he was dead, their triumphant reunion, and ‘Keep it, it suits you.’ I also saw the potential for a fun and playful relationship, and that’s the flavor of the relationship I chose to depict on the shirt,” she said.
She was inspired to create this collection in 2014 when one of her fellow podcasters on the Three Patch Podcast, Shannon Sauro, shared a photo of a shirt with a hidden image underneath. Estacado mentioned that it would be fun if the image was Johnlock and then went on to draw the design and create a few shirts. The shirts gained attention and sold out, and soon after, Estacado was receiving comments from those who didn’t ship Johnlock but liked the idea of the shirt.
“As a multishipper myself with many ships in many fandoms, I thought it would be fun to expand the idea to other ships, too,” she said. “I love the interactive nature of the shirt, and I love that fans can wear their ship and show it off proudly, if they choose to.”
The ships currently in the line are a mix of Estacado’s favorites and requests from friends and followers. Estacado isn’t a full-time artist and works at a nonprofit in Los Angeles so the amount of time it takes to create each shirt varies and can depend on if the ship and fandom is new to her.
“With every ship shirt, it’s important to me to engage with the fandom, and get to know why people love the ship, its flavors, and its fannish lore. For many, shipping is a deeply meaningful experience,” she said. “My approach to fanart always comes from a place of fellowship—a fellow fan sharing my interpretation and love for the characters with fellow fans.”
It certainly gives fans a creative and fun way to answer anyone’s questions about their ships. You can see the entire “Ask Me About My Ship” line on Estacado’s website.
