The Tabi is the emblematic split-toe shoe of Maison Margiela. A fashion icon in its own right, the silhouette first appeared in the opening look of Martin Margiela’s debut show – for Spring-Summer 1989 – in October 1988, and has been continuously re-interpreted by the house since. The founder’s original design for women featured a nude calfskin upper cut according to the natural contour of the foot and elevated on a wide cylindrical heel corresponding to the diameter of the human heel. The first Tabi for men appeared in the Spring-Summer 2018 Men’s Défilé Collection by John Galliano. The shoe takes its name from the jika-tabi shoes native to Japan.