The Margiela Tabi: Fashion’s Most Famous Cult Shoe
4 collectors on why they love the iconic cloven-hoof boot.
Some fashion designs transcend trends and eras. Some change the way we perceive the object itself. The Margiela Tabi is one of these. With its signature split-toe hoof and classic calfskin leather, the original iteration inspires devotion, division, occasional shock and even disgust. Commonplace in fashion and art circles, it’s become the definitive cult accessory. The designer himself, famously reclusive, has called it “the most important footprint of [his] career.”
The history of the Tabi begins far before Margiela dreamed up his cloven creation introduced at his 1988 debut. To understand where it comes from and how it fits into the designer’s body of work, you have to understand his sensibilities.
Margiela’s brilliance lay largely in his radical post-structural approach: his ability to take common existing items and deconstruct, reframe and reconceptualize them through tailoring, leaving the wearer questioning the object’s purpose and place. Take his porcelain waistcoat from his Fall/Winter 1989 Artisanal line. Crafted out of broken fine china, the garment forces a consideration of value, playing with concepts of constriction, comfort, fragility and use.
The pinstripes on the pieces of his Spring/Summer 1992 collection—shown in a damp, abandoned pre-war Paris Metro Station, once a homeless shelter after Liberation—were likewise painted on the models’ bodies. Where does the work end and begin? Models were doused in red paint just before walking, leaving red split-toe Tabi prints throughout the station. Is it bizarre? Is it beautiful?
The designer left the viewer feeling and thinking; complacency and clichés of glamour had no place in this world. The Tabi, much like interior construction made visible or sweaters baked over XXL dummies and transformed into oversized wearable sculpture (Spring/Summer ‘00), is rooted in a concept of luxury revitalized by deconstruction.
The Tabi, too, forces a reconsideration of a historic design. The original tabi was birthed in 15th century Japan as a pair of cotton socks. Japan had just begun importing cotton, and a split-toe sock was designed to match traditional wood-and-leather thong sandals. The concept behind the split-toe was based on more than aesthetics. It was about balance and stability.
At first, the tabi was solely available for the upper classes due to scarcity of cotton. Later on, tabis were color-coded by class, with the elite wearing purple and gold, common people almost always blue, and samurais taking their choice excluding the colors of the upper caste. In the 19th century, a pair of rubber-soled tabis, the jika-tabi, were invented by rubber tire manufacturer Tokujiro Ishibashi for outdoor laborers. Meaning “tabi that contact the ground,” the jika-tabi was durable and agile.
This is the pair Margiela based his version on, seen in his first collection. He later told Geert Bruloot, his first buyer, that the shoe kept reappearing because there was no budget for a new form; the team repainted unsold boots from the 1988 collection in 1989 and 1990.
Today, the Margiela Tabi has many iterations. It’s been referenced by Prada and Vetements. Within the house of Margiela, there is the original, heeled calfskin version. Then there is the Tabi Bianchetto, a simple canvas sneaker save the split-toe; the Tabi ballet flat; Tabi mary janes; and various Tabis for men. The latest offerings are something else. Take the new MMM x Reebok Instapump Fury Hi, which fuses Reebok’s Instapump with a heeled Tabi, both strange and futuristic.
Of course, a piece of fashion is nothing if it is not lived in. The Tabi became a cult item not through creation alone, but through how it’s been worn on the street. We spoke to Margiela Tabi obsessives to hone in on the piece’s other, more personal history.
SIDNEY PRAWATYOTIN, @siduations / Los Angeles
When did you first see a Tabi?
When I was 16 or 17, I moved in with a friend downtown and we were throwing a house party in our apartment and I think I was like tripping off ecstasy, something with a hallucinogen. One of my friends came and when I opened the door to greet her, I started looking at her outfit, and my eyes panned down to her shoes, and they were Margiela. Because I was on these hallucinogens, I was freaked out. I don’t know if it was joy or [horror]. It was just a very intense feeling. She was wearing the Margiela hooves and I seriously thought she was a centaur. And that person was Chloë Sevigny. She had them on with a pair of pinstriped pants and a parka.
Tell us about your first pair.
When it came out in 1988, I didn’t really know much about fashion. There were no websites. There was no social media. There was no Internet. It was just like word of mouth or whatever people wore on the streets. I wasn’t old enough to understand Women’s Wear Daily, those trade papers that show you the runway collections. So, I was first introduced to the Margiela Tabi through friends I went clubbing with. I was 17 when I first got them and by then I was already two years into clubbing.
Where were you living?
I was born and raised in New York City. I hung out at the clubs a lot at an early age. I think the first club I went to was when I was 13, but I didn’t go out regularly. I started going out to nightclubs when I was like 16. It was a different time in New York. The rules weren’t as enforced as they are now. The clubs were filled with a lot of fashion students, creatives, artists, musicians—just the creative vibe. That’s how I was introduced to fashion and the Margiela Tabi. I borrowed a pair from my friend and… borrowed is loose. I held onto them for a really long time just hoping they would never ask for them back! [laughs] I wore them out to the point where I ruined the leather. I was like, ‘Wait a minute, I need to buy a replacement because if they ask for it back, I’m screwed.’
I ended up buying another pair at this boutique in Soho called If Boutique. Now, I had two pairs of Margielas: the messed-up ones and the ones that I was going to pretend were my friend’s. Fortunately, they never asked for them back, which is kind of weird in retrospect…So, I wore those two Margiela Tabis for a while, I guess until I was 20 or something. And one month I saw myself short on money, so I had to [sell] them for rent.
I was tripping off ecstasy [and Chloë Sevigny] came. When I opened the door, she was wearing the Margiela hooves and I seriously thought she was a centaur.
Sidney Prawatyotin
That’s so New York.
I no longer had Tabis until later on in life when I was like, ‘Okay, I really, really miss these shoes.’ I bought the original style and didn’t really wear them, just held onto them. To me they’re like sculptures. I would put them on a mantle if I had a mantle or a fireplace.
They didn’t go above size 41. I always had to try and squeeze my feet into them and stretch the leather slowly so that was another reason why I never wore the Tabis that I bought. I just didn’t want to ruin them. I did that already [laughs].
It wasn’t until a few years ago that they started to release the Tabi boots for men, so I started to buy them to actually wear them now. I realized how much I missed wearing them out! They are the softest leather. I feel more comfortable walking in those heels than I do in my bare feet, oddly enough.
I started to collect them slowly and now I have around six or seven pairs? Which isn’t a lot compared to other collectors. But I’m getting up there.
What is it you love about them?
I love them so much because they’re comfortable and sculptural. I spend a lot of time looking down at my feet, so I might as well look at something interesting! And the leather, it’s just so soft. It looks like it’s an actual, I don’t want to say foot, but it looks like a hoof. Literally, it looks like it’s on an animal. Not just because it’s a hoof, but the way the leather wraps around your feet. I love them.
I’m surprised that some people have an aversion to them. They can’t even look at them. I think that’s partially why I like them, to a degree. If you’re talking to someone, they focus on your face and the upper part of your body and as the conversation goes on, they pan down to your feet and they’re like, ‘Holy shit, what are those?’ Sometimes, it really freaks people out or sometimes they are so intrigued by them that it’s a conversation starter. It takes attention away from myself and onto my shoes. [They’re] just so awkward, you know? That’s why I love them so much.
[Ultimately] they’re functional. They’re the most comfortable shoes ever. I wear the flat ones around the house. I brought them with me on trips to Asia just to wear around because they are so comfortable. They’re my go-to shoe. And now with these Reebok sneakers, I may end up working out in them? I have run away from people in those heels, but I have never run on a treadmill.
BIANCA TANCHAY, event producer / Los Angeles
Tell us when you first took notice of Tabis. What has your relationship with them been like?
I never thought of them as weird-looking because they were always sort of in my world. Through my heyday when I used to party a lot, I would party in Tabis. I had my first pair when I was 16. They were the classic red lamb leather. I wore them all the time. I’m known to wear things out to the ground. I’ve kept my Tabis actually because they’re basically unwearable now. I’ve run a hole through the sole. The toes have come off. They’ve been duct taped.
Luckily, a friend of mine who used to work at Margiela got me [into] the friends and family sale, where they cost nothing, so I bought two pairs. I’m usually a size 37 but they only had a size 38 in the patent red ones, so I had a size 37 silver glitter one and a patent red one in 38. One day I think I accidentally put on one red one and one silver one. And I just kept doing that. I wore mismatched Tabis for a long time and was quite well known for it. [laughs]
That’s pretty good.
Get this. I moved to LA last January. There’s a Margiela shop over here and they have this huge Tabi. It’s not just paper mâché. They have this huge white Tabi sculpture. A good friend of mine, Courtney Trop, and I saw they were getting rid of it. So, one day we went and picked up that huge Tabi! Both of us were wearing Tabis.
JOEL TRAPTOW, stylist / Paris; currently based in Calgary, Alberta
Tell me about your first encounter with the Margiela Tabi.
It was definitely the Mark Borthwick Stella Tennant images. It was probably the early 2000s. I remember being like, ‘What is this really bizarre shoe?’
What about your first pair?
I don’t own a pair just because I’m a Tabi purist in the sense that they didn’t start making men’s ones until recently, and I’m not anti-current Tabi, but I’m a bit—this is going to make me sound a little elitist, but when someone becomes so mainstream that people who don’t even understand the history of something start adapting it, I don’t necessarily pull away, but I get a little defensive in a sense.
When I first started getting really into fashion, Margiela was one of those first designers that I was like, ‘Oh wow, this is something different.’ One of my best friends, I made her buy a pair. She was also super into fashion but they didn’t make men’s ones back then, so I was like, ‘This is the best solution.’ It was a huge triumph to get a pair. You couldn’t get them anywhere in Canada. We had to get a friend from Tumblr to order them from Europe to the States, and then she shipped them to my friend in Canada. My friend was out and about some day and someone stopped her on the street and was like, ‘Oh my god, are those Jeffrey Campbells?’
Why do you love them?
I love the Tabi so much because to someone who doesn’t really like fashion or understand it, it seems super obscure or ‘What the hell?’ but at the end of the day, it is actually a super practical shoe. For me, it has become a classic staple that any sort of well-dressed person who has an understanding of culture and fashion is drawn to. That’s why I love it. It is so classic and clean that it works for anyone. You can do that more kooky style where it’s a hoof shoe, or a refined, kind of classic Hermès look—very expensive but the only thing about your outfit that is a little bit off.
MAMA STYLIST, stylist/club host/drag queen/brand specialist for Rick Owens at Selfridges / London
Tell us about how you got your first Tabis.
I always dreamed about one pair and when they came out for men in heels, I died. I was like, ‘I need to have it!’ But of course, you know how it is with the salary in this country, poor bitch! Then my friend was like, ‘Mama, I have a friend who is an assistant manager at Margiela. He can give you a 45% discount!’ I messaged him the next day and he got them for me. I took them home and I put them on and I was so happy. The happiness was there for weeks. Those shoes are just too insane.
So, when did you first become aware of the shoes?
Ages ago I had seen somewhere women online wearing Tabis and I was so impressed. They are so interesting, and at the same time, so simple, so different, so classy and elegant. I was shocked. There were not any Margiela men’s Tabis [then]. The biggest size was actually 41. My size is 43. I knew I would never be able to get one. [Then the men’s version came out], and obviously I fell in love. Around one year later, I was just thinking, what’s my wish list for the year? Can I ask anyone for a discount? How am I going to save money to get those items? ‘Cause I’m a little fashion victim, darling. I need to be prepared for that. Basically, at one of the after parties, being myself and being fab, [my friend] organized the discount for me, and a week later, I got them. It was a fantastic feeling.
Why do you love them so much?
It’s one of these shoes that I’m going to wear for years. If I have an event, if I’m going to the gallery or I just want to dress up, that’s the pair I will go for. But also, sometimes if I just want to feel myself, feeling gorgeous. I wear them at work. Whenever I’m just putting on a simple outfit, why wear [something] simple when you can wear something fab and add Tabis? When you can be fabulous and fully yourself?
I was so happy for the Reebok and Margiela collaboration. That fashion [sensibility] meeting some more casual sporty version. They are super comfortable but they still have this identity that I’m looking for in clothes or accessories. I really feel a big connection to them.
Writer: Ashley Simpson
Photos: Courtesy