Maison Margiela’s tabi shoe was first shown in 1988, and has appeared on the brand’s runways as a pump, boot, ballet flat, mule, and as a sole taped to model’s feet with clear packing tape.
Yesterday, a new kind of tabi debuted on Margiela’s Artisanal runway: a sneaker. Made in collaboration with Reebok, the yellow unisex sneaker combines the classic tabi split toe with Reebok’s Instapump Fury sneaker from 1994.
The sneaker was shown as part of the brand’s couture collection, vaulting the shoe to a status reserved for Galliano’s bias-cut dresses (of which there were several stunning iterations on the catwalk today), Stephen Jones’s headpieces, and Leon Dame’s slinky runway walk.
OG colors such as the black with neon accents lead the charge, though in its curated assortment of offerings, they also include a full black as well as a clean triple white sans cracking paint. The latter, which can be seen on the feet of the collection’s womenswear component, is joined by the vibrant alternative with a raised heel and a boot-like construction hidden within the cages of the retro trainer. This underlayer of patent leather seats a sole ostensibly proprietary to the Vector-marked imprint, but the toe is of an unsullied Margiela DNA as it furnishes with their signature Tabi split. Menswear alternates arrive alongside with the same characteristic, however, its bottoms is replaced for a flat sole made to mimic that of the luxury house’s Retro Fit silhouette.
The shoe will arrive in Maison Margiela stores later this year in a variety of colors and in a flat and heeled style.
