There was something different about the runway this year at Lagos Fashion Week. When Night Has Come, Oshobor’s SS26 collection opened, all eyes didn’t just follow the clothes, they fell to the shoes. Bold, sculptural, handmade pieces from TheShoeblocc that felt alive in their own right. It wasn’t just a styling choice; it was a statement about where craft meets fashion, and what happens when both sides come together to build something.

The collaboration between TheShoeblocc and Oshobor felt natural. Both creators are rooted in process, one through fabric and form, the other through structure and handcraft. Together, they created a story that was equal parts art and attitude.

I just wanted to tell an extension of the story Oshobor was telling, says Biodun Ariori, founder and creative director of Shoeblocc. We didn’t just want to make accessories; we wanted to create characters of their own. The main idea was expression grounded in craft.

Every pair of shoes for the show was handmade in Lagos. For Ariori, the challenge was scaling up without losing the essence of what makes his work personal. “My process is usually very detailed and slow,” he says. “So, taking it to a big stage like Lagos Fashion Week meant making sure it still felt handmade, had soul. I think we did that.”

Oshobor, whose real name is Peter Oshobor, had already been deeply involved in developing the SS26 collection when the idea to collaborate arose.

I’d known TheShoeblocc’s work for a while, he tells Ekpo Africa. When we finally met, we just started talking about creativity and the journey so far, and the idea of working together came naturally. His work already had the structure and form that matched what I was exploring in Night Has Come.

What tied their ideas together was form. Oshobor’s collection drew inspiration from celestial shapes, the moon, and the stars, as well as their silhouettes, while TheShoeblocc’s shoes featured similar geometry in bold, grounded shapes. “His colours are vibrant, his designs have that energy,” Oshobor says. “It was a no-brainer.”

For TheShoeblocc, the collaboration pushed boundaries. “I had never made a pair of female heels befor,” Ariori admits. “But because of this, I did. I pushed myself.” On the runway, the reaction spoke volumes. “When the models saw them, they loved them,” Oshobor recalls. “They said they were comfortable, they felt powerful. That was special.”

Both designers see this moment as something bigger than just one show. “Seeing my work on that stage said to me that Nigerian fashion is ready to take up space,” Ariori tells Ekpo Africa. “We have the materials, we have the skill, we just need more moments like this.”

For Oshobor, collaboration has become an integral part of how he envisions fashion moving forward. “We also worked with House of Dafoody for makeup and Frank Jadin for hair,” he says. “It’s about building community, about showing how local brands can stand together. That’s how we grow.”

When the show ended, what lingered wasn’t just applause; it was the sense that something had shifted. Two designers from different corners of the creative world came together and made it look easy. Night Has Come wasn’t just about clothes or shoes. It was about how far craft can travel when it’s allowed to walk the runway.