I finally got the chance to check out Fabrik Party. I grabbed my camera and headed to number 12 Maasdorp Avenue in Belgravia, where I linked up with Ulenni Okandlovhu, the platform's co-founder, and Marcus from the team, to talk about their current instalment.
One thing I appreciate about grassroots movements is how otherworldly they feel. You could be dealing with 99 problems, but once you are there, you are teleported to none. I got to see some immersive artwork and watch other creatives in their natural element.
What Fabrik Party is
Fabrik Party is a platform for art and display. It is a great place to network, get some knowledge on how to navigate the creative space, share new fashion trends and showcase visual art. If you are on the come-up music-wise, it is a great place to drop an EP.
It is curated by creatives for creatives. If you have been in the art space as long as I have, you will appreciate that, because it maintains the integrity of the various art forms.
The paper trail backs up the grassroots label. The Herald reported in 2023 that the concept started in 2016 as pop-up photo shoots and only became a public event in 2020, growing from about 28 people at the start to around a thousand participants and guests. The name Skeyi and Strobo, the collective behind it, comes from the oxen yoke used for ploughing in rural Zimbabwe, picked to stand for collaboration, because each part depends on the other. Okandlovhu told the paper the idea was a space where creatives in the subcultures could collaborate, co-create and spotlight their own work.
Fun fact: the team told me Fabrik Party has also helped local fashion designers show their work in the UK. On the record, what I could find was a British Council collaboration in May 2025, when Skeyi and Strobo ran five masterclasses and a sustainable fashion runway at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, with UK-based designer Ellen Rock among the participants, as ZiFM Stereo reported.
How the convention has grown
The first convention ran from 27 to 29 October 2023 at Alliance Française de Harare, according to 3-mob, with workshops on the Friday, Chikwata 263 headlining the Saturday and runway shows on the Sunday. In 2024 it went on the road, with Lusaka and Bulawayo editions before Harare, Icatha's debut collection was the highlight of that year's runway. The 2025 edition brought South African artist Muzi to headline and Zambian brands onto the runway, and Madzika's review(Greedy South), asked out loud what the ceiling of Zimbabwean fashion even is. Organisers told The Zimbabwe Sphere last year that more than 300 local creatives had collaborated with the platform by then.
This year is different, and that is the story. The Zimbabwe Sphere's Nathaniel Gondo reported on 22 October that the convention had been cut from three public days to two, branded the Participate Edition, because the new Fabrik Party Lab Store on Maasdorp Avenue now hosts creatives daily for networking, trading and creating. Okandlovhu called the store the year's biggest milestone. Saturday carried the workshops, music, market and a skate jam, put on by the team building Harare's first free skatepark at the same address, and Sunday was fashion and music. Tickets were $20 in the second phase and $30 at the gate.
What it was like
It was good to reconnect with legends in the game and friends I had not seen in a while. That is the part listings cannot capture. A convention is a programme, but Fabrik Party on the day is a room full of people who have been building this scene for years, plus the ones just arriving, and the two groups actually talk to each other.
For Harare, a permanent address matters more than any single weekend. Okandlovhu's complaint to The Herald back in 2023 was that young creatives had too few spaces and too little infrastructure to work from. Three years on, the platform has answered its own complaint with a store that is open Monday to Saturday, and a convention that is now built around it rather than the other way round. If you make clothes, music or art in this city and you have not been to Maasdorp Avenue yet, that is your next stop.
The verdict
Was it wack? No. Was it mid? No. Was it worth it? Yes Absolutely. If making meaningful art that can take you places is something you value, this is the place to be. From industry gems to networking, they are the culture.
Sources
- Fabrik Party Convention returns with a new format, The Zimbabwe Sphere
- SS Fabrik Party redefines fashion, The Herald
- The first ever SS Fabrik Party Art & Design Convention is on this weekend, 3-mob
- The 2024 Fabrik Party Convention: A Review, Greedy South
- The 2025 Fabrik Party Convention: What is the ceiling of Zimbabwean fashion?, Greedy South
- Fabrik Party Convention 2025 Returns with Three-Day Celebration of Zimbabwean Underground Creative Culture, The Zimbabwe Sphere
- Runway reimagined, ZiFM Stereo
- Fabrik Party on Instagram
Researched and drafted with the help of AI tools, then fact-checked and edited by our team. How we work.
