NATHANIEL GONDO
The highly anticipated Fabrik Party Convention 2025 returns this weekend from Friday to Sunday at Alliance Française de Harare, bringing together Zimbabwe’s most dynamic underground creatives for a powerful three-day showcase of art, fashion, music and street culture.
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| Scenes from last year's Fabrik Party |
Founded by multidisciplinary artist Ulenni Okandlovu in 2020, Fabrik Party has evolved from grassroots activations to a full-scale cultural convention. With a track record of spotlighting emerging talent, the platform has collaborated with over 300 local creatives which includes fashion designers, visual artists, stylists, filmmakers and musicians with many of whom have gone on to feature at major festivals and fashion weeks.
The Skeyi and Strobo Fabrik Party (SSFP) team has always pushed for the betterment of the creative industry and hosting workshops has been one of the key agendas since it‘s early days. This year is no exception with Friday slated for workshops only with free entrance.
Two main workshops are set to be hosted on Friday with one continuing into Saturday. Ulenni confirmed that Muzi from South Africa will be a headlining speaker for one of the workshops, focusing on Creative Independence. Muzi is joining the convention for an exchange program, emphasising the learning aspect over just a performance.
In an interview with this publication, Ulenni gave the detailed workshop's focus, stating, "Creative independence is about the independence of musicians and also exploring other revenue streams that they can explore, other relationships between music and other art forms which are fashion and visual art." He added that it will be "more speaking about lived experience and better musical experience." This workshop will also feature music production and styling.
The second key workshop is the Fabrik Party Vision Lab, a two-day photography and creative direction workshop. The Vision Lab Talk will feature industry professionals like Travolta of Vigorous Youth, Shannon, Augustine Parras, and Nombi M'cwabeni, who will speak on topics like balancing creative vision, collaboration, sustainable business practice, and making ideas work in the real world.
On day two, the Vision Lab Booth will allow participants to apply what they learned by executing their own concepts with guidance from the experts. This hands-on photography workshop will be operated by a pro photographer.
Ulenni stressed the core value of the workshops: "The audience should expect a lot of learning on Friday and a lot of hands-on workshops so there will be a lot of exchange of knowledge and skills that will be happening."
Saturday sees different artists and DJs taking turns on stage. Acid Tears, who rocked the 2023 Convention, returns, alongside Israel, known to Fabrik Party aficionados for his high energy. Bhekiwe will make her Fabrik Party debut performance, while headliner Muzi from SA will hit the stage for a promised display of good music and performance. Ulenni noted that ”New bands that have been scouted will also be performing some of whom people have never seen at all in Harare."
The question on many lips, however, remains the runway showcase, which has consistently been hailed as a highlight of the local creative calendar. Most of the people, including stylist guru Leeroy Jalawa of African Hippie have regarded the Fabrik Party as the real fashion week, so to say, and the audience will certainly be looking for who is taking the runway.
Ulenni confirmed that fashion remains a pivotal focus, as the platform is often a starting point for new designers. This year's runway is supported by ICATHA as the fashion runway presenting partner, will feature a mix of established, mid career and emerging talent.
"We are bringing in other new designers who are emerging, showing for the first time," Ulenni said. This emerging talent will show alongside more established names.
Furthermore, the convention continues it’s commitment to provincial talent, showcasing an in-house selected brand from Kwekwe called Red Planet, along with designers from cities including Marondera (Planet AVUR), Victoria Falls (YET Galore), Bulawayo, Harare and Lusaka.
This comprehensive line-up across workshops, music and fashion underscores the convention's goal of being a launchpad for other creatives that drives a genuine exchange of skills and knowledge in the creative sector.
The convention is supported by Alliance Française de Harare, Icatha and long-time partners and collaborators Caligraph, Dark Art Matters (DAM) collective and the British Council.
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