Our No Photo Policy

When we first opened, way way back in the ancient history of 1999, smart phones didn’t exist. Back then the Nokia 3210 was king. Remember it? It made phone calls, received and wrote texts, had Snake on it and wouldn’t shatter no matter how many times you dropped it. 

But, for better or for worse, times have changed. 23 years later we are all officially glued to our phones. In the palm of our hands we have the worlds’ news delivered to us instantly, high definition cameras and videos, the ability to meet new people with a simple “swipe right” and get the ID of that tune instantly. Now every single person holds the potential to go viral, become an influencer, or take professional style content. Sadly, no one cares what your high score on Snake was anymore.

Hey, we get it. Where would we be without them? As a business we’d be stranded without the power of social media and we know how important it can be for connectivity and sharing important moments. But over the years, as the prevalence of smartphones and social media grew and grew, with new platforms like TikTok completely uprooting our understanding of social media to date (we’re 23 after all – in ‘club years’ that’s ancient), we also began to notice how photography in the club was impacting the dancefloor – and our dancers.  

Increasingly we saw more and more club-goers with phones in the air and flashes on in the club. While we understand the desire to document the moment or capture your favourite DJ in action, the reality was that excessive camera phone use was ruining the moment for fellow dancers and the DJs. Since we first opened our doors we’ve been striving to create a space for freedom and self-expression on the dancefloor. Electronic music has historically been a space for escapism, liberation and breaking down barriers, and for 23 years we’ve been London’s home for underground electronic music – skip forward to 2021, we thought it was about time to try and strip it back to the basics.

In June 2021 we introduced our first official No Photo Policy; "fabric is London's home for underground music, always aiming to create a feeling of self-expression on the dance floor. Stay in the moment and put away your phone, enjoy the night."

Simply put, all we ask is please do not take photos or videos within the club. The policy is in place as a guidance - a statement on our mission to try and encourage our community to stay in the moment. Not taking photos or videos during an event gives privacy to fellow punters and to the artist playing, it removes the distraction – even if just for a few hours – and allows you to focus on what matters, the music.

We still love to document our nights and we employ a professional team of photographers and videographers to help us do this. Our media team are fully briefed on our photography guidelines too; we only permit pre-authorised footage and photos of the DJs and only silhouetted crowd shots.
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Phones and safety

Of course you are allowed to use your phones for other reasons throughout the club - after all we need them for things like finding our mates and ordering a ride home these days. WiFi isn’t available everywhere in the venue, but we have a dedicated WiFi point by the exit and taxi waiting area to make it as easy as we can to get home safely. 

Also, please take care of your phones and other valuables during an event. Don’t leave them unattended or in open sight. If at any point you think you have lost yours, notify a member of our security/steward team immediately, or after the event you can email cloakroom@fabriclondon.com for lost property. 
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Thank you

We really appreciate you listening to us since we launched the policy in 2021, and we want to say thank you for keeping those cameras off and joining us to focus on the music. Keep it coming - we hope to see down here for a hands-free dance soon.