This is your chance to invest in some ultra-rare Maison Margiela Tabi boots

With its split-toe construction, the Maison Margiela Tabi boot has become one of fashion’s most notable – and indeed divisive – pieces of footwear.

First shown as part of Martin Margiela’s debut runway show in 1989, the provocative style saw the Belgian designer draw inspiration from traditional Japanese tabi socks, which he had discovered on a trip to Tokyo. Dating back to the 15th century and originally crafted from leather, the split-toe socks were designed to accommodate the thong construction of geta and zori sandals.

Discover a rare pair of Maison Margiela Tabi boots

‘Imagine the stress of creating a shoe that has never been seen before,’ the elusive designer recounted in the 2020 Reiner Holzemer-directed film ‘Martin Margiela: In His Own Words’ (in true anonymous style, the designer appeared only via voiceover). ‘Then my memory went back to the day we went to Tokyo for the first time, and we saw the street workers in their flat cotton tabi shoes. I thought, okay, why shouldn’t I do a soft tabi shoe but on a high heel?’

At the S/S 1989 show, they were splattered with red paint in order to leave their distinctive, hoof-like footprint on the white runway (‘I thought the audience should notice the new footwear. And what would be more evident than its footprint?’ he said on the occasion of the 2015 MoMu exhibition ‘Footprint – The Track of Shoes in Fashion’). The Tabi would appear in various iterations throughout the designer’s career – at first through necessity as a cash-strapped young designer who could not afford endless new lasts (his A/W 1989 shoe saw the same shoes recreated in loops of packing tape), and then due to their ubiquity in avant-garde circles.

‘In the beginning, there was no budget for a new form, so I had no other choice than to continue with [the Tabi] if I wanted shoes,’ he said, also in 2015. ‘But after several collections, people started asking for them. And they wanted more… and they didn’t stop asking, thank God.’

After the eponymous designer left the house in 2008, the style continued to evolve (you can now purchase not only heels but brogues, loafers and flip flops, among others), including under Margiela’s successor, John Galliano. Memorably, he split the toe of cowboy boots and vertiginous heeled pumps, the latter a collaboration with Christian Louboutin. Meanwhile iterations of the Tabi appeared in Glenn Martens’ first two collections for Maison Margiela – ready-to-wear and artisanal, respectively – shown earlier this year in Paris (the Belgian designer is the house’s current creative director).

And this week, Maison Margiela is launching a new initiative titled the ‘Tabi Collector’s Series’, whereby each year the house will release a new iteration of the classic boot with a focus on handcraft (think of it as the haute couture of Tabis). For its launch, a shimmering ‘broken-mirror’ boot will be available in an edition of just 25 worldwide, with each pair adorned with 8,000 glass beads, sequins and metallic shards in a painstaking act of hand embroidery.

The metallic shards – evoking the ‘broken mirror treatment’ which first appeared in Galliano’s A/W 2015 artisanal collection for the house – are each laser-cut to recall the ‘fractured surface of aged glass’ and purposefully patinaed to appear oxidised. Alongside the launch, a short documentary by Italian filmmaker Yuri Ancanari traces the history and craft behind the Tabi, ‘heralding the shoe as a work of art’. Watch the film below.

Limited to 25 pairs worldwide, the Tabi Broken Mirror Embroidery will be displayed in selected stores from 30 October 2025, including London’s Bruton Street. Available on a first-come-first-served basis, initial pairs will be offered to Tabi collectors, with the remaining pairs going on general sale.

A Tabi Film - YouTube

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