Every haute couture brand has one signature, iconic, never done before piece that either is a cult favorite or is worn by most celebrities. In most cases, it is a bag - such as the Dior Saddle Bag, the Hermès Birkin and the Jacquemus Le Chiquito – but Maison Margiela’s Tabi is the exception. The two toed shoes may seem strange and unnecessary for some, but the boot holds an interesting past that dates back to the 15th century.
Who is Margiela?
To understand the Tabi, it’s important to first understand Margiela as a brand and as a creative. Maison Margiela, founded by the Belgian designer Martin Margiela, is a luxury fashion house known for deconstructive and avant garde designs with unusual materials. The brand is popular for being “anti-fashion” or opposite current trends – Margiela’s fashion focuses more on the artistic and expressive aspect more than focusing on the public that will receive the designs. Before creating the house, the young Margiela was inspired by other deconstructive designers like Rei Kawabuko (the creator of Comme des Garçons) and Yohji Yamamoto. In 1988 Margiela launched his label, and in his Spring/Summer collection the fashion world would be forever changed thanks to the introduction of the Tabi.
Japanese history
The idea of the Tabi was not born out of Margiela’s mind – he was inspired by the shoes Japanese workers would wear during the 15th century. The Tabi was originally a two-toed sock to be used comfortably with sandals. The Japanese sock was more complex than one that was Western since it was made by sewing together three pieces of fabric – two on top and one for the soles. The division was also thought as a holistic design, as the separation of the big toe promoted balance, and a way to be connected to your sense of self. The colors of the Tabi also represented class limitations of position and power. Upper class Tabi users wore purple and gold, samurai used any color they wanted (except purple and gold) and commoners wore indigo blue.
In the early 1900s the Jika-Tabis were introduced thanks to the mass-production of rubber. The Jika-Tabis used the original Tabi design but added a rubber sole to be able to make contact with the ground without sandals. The Jika-Tabi became the usual shoe for construction, farmers and other labor workers. Western culture became aware of the Jika-Tabi thanks to WWII, since Japanese soldiers wore split-toed boots, and in 1951 Shigeki Tanaka won the Boston Marathon wearing split toed running shoes. Many Western companies used this an excuse to capitalize off the Tabi and create their own variation, though the split toe still seemed too odd and didn’t gain any popularity.
Margiela’s debut
Margiela had been inspired by Japanese culture since the beginning of his career, and after a trip to Japan he was heavily impacted by the idea of a split-toed shoe. His first reiteration of the Tabi was a boot. Margiela also wanted to incorporate traditionally menswear elements in a woman’s shoe – a stocky boot with hard leather, geared towards womenswear. The shoe’s unique design was not received with open arms, but Margiela later found luck. The first buyer ever to stock the unique shoe was Geert Bruloot, who wanted to exhibit pieces that excited him in his boutique Coccodrilo, so finding the Tabi was just the shoe Bruloot wanted in his retail store.
The Tabi was officially introduced in 1988, in Margiela’s first ever collection for his newly founded label. In order to draw attention to the footwear, Margiela covered the models in bright red paint so that the catwalk would be covered in blood red footprints (or should I say hoofprints?) After using the Tabi in his next runway show, Fall/Winter 1989, the place of the shoe was solidified as a permanent piece in following Margiela collections.
Popularity and mixed opinions
Since the creation of the boot, the Tabi was underwent various transformations to keep the shoe fresh and interesting. Due to lack of budget, Margiela didn’t have the economic means to produce new shoes, so he used wall paint to cover up last season’s Tabi and create a completely new variation. Ever since the 1988 debut, the Tabi has become flat, a heel, sandals, and considerably one of the most popular variations was the “Topless” Tabi from the Spring/Summer 1996 that didn’t have any sort of strap or top – the models wore the shoe by attaching it with ducktape, in true avant garde Margiela manner.
The Tabi gained popularity thanks to the strangeness of the design. In a certain way, you have to form an opinion about the Tabi – there’s no way to be impartial, you either are intrigued or disgusted. That’s the beauty of the Tabi, a simple division in a shoe creates so much debate and conversation. A Tabi provokes feeling, by seeing something so familiar yet so different the fashion world wanted to ask questions and learn more. It’s scary but seductive. Its rare that a design causes so much thought, but its impossible to be apathetic concerning the Tabi. Whether you adore the shoe and dream of owning a Tabi or detest the idea of wearing the shoe isn’t important, what matters is that the conversation will never die down. The Tabi shocked the public in 1988 and continues to shock us today, and that’s why it will never become a lost memory. Margiela taught us that in order to make a mark in fashion you don’t have to come up with an idea that is completely new or trendy – sometimes, the unusual and different can be the most meaningful in this industry.
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