With being the most authentic forms of shoe and apparel on the market and in history, how does one continue to revolutionize the high heel? How about splitting the toe is probably what Maison Margiela said.
The tabi split toe boot/heel wasn’t solely invented by Maison Margiela but rebranded by him. His inspiration comes from the Japanese worker’s boot that traces back as far as the 15th century. With Margiela’s cultural background centering in Belgium and other international spots in the world, Margiela drew a lot of his influence from places and designs studied globally at his time with other huge fashion house such as Raf Simons and Ann Demeulemeester in addition to attending the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. The design was originally incorporated into the workers boot for practicality and balance for the big toe and a new sense of mobility working through the fields. The original split was in a closed toe sandal but Margiela revolutizes the concept into a boot and a heel. The hoove has left a chokehold on fashion for decades now as the iconic build is an eye catcher to any eye. The heel being deemed too “radical” at first left confusion on the attention towards the heel in addition to stigmatization of it in the workforce and profession. As the heel stuck around for longer, people in and out of fashion started to grasp a love for the avant garde shoe as it was still fairly new and did well with trending.
Because of Margiela’s work with the tabi and outside of the tabi, so many brands from the 70s all the way up to present day continue to follow and find inspiration from his work. Because of this, Margiela remains notorious in formulating unique and beautiful designs for his clothes and shoes along with adding practicality to his apparel.
VT Vogue 