diff --git a/build/fietsje/dependency.go b/build/fietsje/dependency.go
index e12e272..8644bc4 100644
--- a/build/fietsje/dependency.go
+++ b/build/fietsje/dependency.go
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@
 	forceBazelGeneration bool
 	buildTags            []string
 	patches              []string
+	prePatches           []string
 	buildExtraArgs       []string
 	// replace is an importpath that this dependency will replace. If this is set, this dependency will be visible
 	// in the build as 'importpath', but downloaded at 'replace'/'version'. This might be slighly confusing, but
diff --git a/build/fietsje/planner.go b/build/fietsje/planner.go
index 3aaefef..a609884 100644
--- a/build/fietsje/planner.go
+++ b/build/fietsje/planner.go
@@ -188,6 +188,13 @@
 	}
 }
 
+// prePatches applies patches in affected dependencies before BUILD file generation.
+func prePatches(patches ...string) buildOpt {
+	return func(d *dependency) {
+		d.prePatches = patches
+	}
+}
+
 func forceBazelGeneration(d *dependency) {
 	d.forceBazelGeneration = true
 }
diff --git a/build/fietsje/render.go b/build/fietsje/render.go
index bc5d732..16fd089 100644
--- a/build/fietsje/render.go
+++ b/build/fietsje/render.go
@@ -69,6 +69,15 @@
 				fmt.Fprintf(w, "            %q,\n", "//third_party/go/patches:"+patch)
 			}
 			fmt.Fprintf(w, "        ],\n")
+		}
+		if d.prePatches != nil {
+			fmt.Fprintf(w, "        pre_patches = [\n")
+			for _, patch := range d.prePatches {
+				fmt.Fprintf(w, "            %q,\n", "//third_party/go/patches:"+patch)
+			}
+			fmt.Fprintf(w, "        ],\n")
+		}
+		if d.patches != nil || d.prePatches != nil {
 			fmt.Fprintf(w, "        patch_args = [%q],\n", "-p1")
 		}
 		if d.buildExtraArgs != nil {