"Goat slippers" — the main trend of autumn in Of Russia: what is tabi, why are they so popular, photos, price

Russia is used to catching up with global trends belatedly, but this time it's different. At the peak of popularity is tabi, shoes of Japanese origin, which Maison Margiela has turned into an object of fashion cult. In August alone, Russians purchased such pairs worth over 600 million rubles. And this is not an accidental splash, but a sign that a real classic has entered our fashion. How utilitarian socks of the XV century turned into an iconic object of high fashion and why their phenomenon reflects the dialogue between East and West — we understand the material of Izvestia.

More than just a trend

Russian fashion today is in a state of identity search. On the one hand, the market is still guided by Western trends, on the other hand, more and more consumers are paying attention to things with a history and cultural context. And it was at this point that the interests coincided.

According to the Center for Advanced Technologies (CRPT), in the last month of summer, Russians spent about 600 million rubles on tabi. This amount has become a record for the last four years. And spending on eccentric shoes even exceeded spending on coffee, restaurants, and groceries. As expected, Moscow and St. Petersburg turned out to be the leaders of purchases.

Such a surge of interest in tabi shows that this is not a passing whim of fashionistas, but a deep cultural phenomenon. To understand why Japanese "two—toed" boots have become a symbol of modern style and have conquered the Russian market, it is worth going back to their origins and tracing the path from the 15th century to the catwalks of Maison Margiela.

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Japanese tabi socks

Despite the fact that tabis are now inextricably associated with Martin Margiela's legacy, it would be a serious exaggeration to call them an absolutely unique invention. After all, the idea of split-toe shoes appeared long before the Belgian designer. The first tabis originated in the 15th century, when Japan began importing cotton from China. So, the new material gave birth to a variety of products, including socks. Their shape was directly related to the main footwear of that time — wooden geta sandals with a strap that passed between the toes. It was for them that the split cotton ankle socks were invented. That's how the first tabs appeared.

During the Edo period, such socks became an integral part of the Japanese wardrobe and at the same time a social marker. The color of the products was regulated by the norms of the feudal hierarchy: peasants wore indigo tabis, white was chosen for special occasions, and samurai could afford any shades except purple and gold, which were the privilege of the nobility.

The design of the tabi was noticeably different from the usual Western socks. They were sewn from three separate pieces of cloth. Two formed the upper, connecting in the area between the toes, and the third was used for the sole. Thanks to this, tabis could be considered not just socks, but full-fledged shoes.

With the invention of mass production of rubber, tabis evolved into jika-tabi boots created by Tokujiro Ishibashi, whose family was involved in the rubber business (his brother founded the Bridgestone company). This option has become a work shoe for farmers, construction workers, rickshaws and handymen. It was believed that a split toe increases mobility. And during World War II, jika-tabi became part of the military equipment of Japanese soldiers. The Australian military, encountering them in the Pacific Ocean, were impressed by these unusual shoes, but its characteristic footprints had the opposite effect — it became easy to track the enemy.

After the war, the Tabis continued to influence the West. In 1951, Japanese runner Shigeki Tanaka won the Boston Marathon in sneakers inspired by traditional tabi. Although the success was resounding, split-toe shoes in the United States were long perceived more as exotic and did not cause a wave of immediate imitations.

Maison Margiela and the birth of a legend

Tabi's cult status in the West was still almost 40 years away. Exotic Japanese boots themselves did not attract attention for a long time, no one was in a hurry to copy or adapt them to the European market. The situation was changed by the appearance on stage of Martin Margiela, the man who was destined to turn the "strange shoes with a split nose" into a global fashion phenomenon.

It's not easy to describe the designer's biography, as he consciously built an aura of mystery around himself. Throughout his career, Margiela gave only a few short interviews by fax, never appeared in public, even at his own shows, and always spoke in the first person in the plural, emphasizing the collective nature of his work. There are only a few known photographs of him taken in the 1990s, and there is no certainty that he is really in them. All we know about Margel is fragments from the stories of colleagues, acquaintances, and documentarian Rainer Holtsemer, who managed to get closer to him than others.

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So, the official information boils down to the following. The future couturier was born in 1957 in Genk, Belgium. Even as a teenager, he accidentally saw a TV show starring Andre Courrege and Paco Rabanne and got the idea to work with clothes. Young Martin began collecting second-hand items, experimenting with images, rearranging finds and creating unexpected combinations from them. His approach was avant-garde: he could sew one out of six old shirts, turn the jacket inside out, and combine trousers with vintage jackets.

In 1979, Margiela graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, and a few years later moved to Paris with the firm intention of joining Jean-Paul Gaultier. According to legend, he was literally on duty in the reception area of the fashion house until he finally got a meeting. Gautier appreciated his talent and, contrary to expectations, did not take him on as an intern, but stated: "Such a talent does not need practice — open your own brand." Nevertheless, Margela still worked for him for three years before he decided to take an independent step in 1987.

Together with his friend and colleague Jenny Meirens, the owner of a Brussels concept boutique, he founded Maison Martin Margiela. And from the very first show in 1988, the designer made a splash. While the fashion world was awash in glitz and glamour, Margiela relied on art performance. The shows were held in abandoned warehouses and courtyards, the models went out in masks, stumbled on the podium, and the front rows were occupied by children from the Parisian suburbs, displacing the "icons of the industry."

He posted invitations to the debut show in the free newspaper "From hand to Hand", bought a hundred copies and sent them to key industry figures. Those who came to the modest Café de la Gare theater saw a white podium on which models left red "hoof" footprints — the hallmark of tabi, shoes that were soon destined to become a legend.

Accidents are not accidental

Even before launching his own fashion house, Martin Margiela was obsessed with the idea of creating shoes that would be truly innovative.

"For me, the most important silhouette details are the shoulders and shoes. Everything else just fills in the space between them," he said in the documentary "Margiela: in her Own Words."

However, at the end of the 20th century, it seemed that it was no longer possible to invent something radically new. The decision came after a trip to Japan, where Margela first saw workers in cleft-nosed boots. The master of deconstruction instantly realized that he could transfer the idea to high heels and turn a utilitarian form into a fashion object. In addition, the Belgian would not be himself if he had not decided to make his own version of the nude tabi to make the shoes look like a "second skin".

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For a long time, no workshop in Europe dared to undertake such an experiment, until one of Jean Paul Gaultier's employees introduced the designer to an Italian shoemaker named Zagato. He caught fire with the project and brought the eccentric sketches to life.

At the 1988 debut show, tabi's soles were specially dipped in red paint. Margela wanted them to be remembered, and it was difficult to come up with a more effective gesture. At the second show, the designer went even further, he sewed a capsule collection of jackets made of white fabric stained with traces of these shoes. Since then, Tabi has appeared at every show: not out of instant success, but rather out of necessity. Maison Martin Margiela did not have the funds to develop new shoes, and the old models were simply repainted with the most common wall paint.

This is how tabi became a recognizable brand symbol. When things started to improve, Margela began experimenting with materials and shapes, without changing the idea itself. Tabis made of suede and satin, embroidered with sequins and covered with glitter, on stilettos and flat shoes, in the format of sneakers, sandals and boots, appeared on the catwalks. The most provocative version was the tabi sole, which was simply offered to be taped to the feet — a transparent tape was included.

Tabi's World

Since Martin Margiela did not invent the tabi form itself, the fashion house did not have any patents for it. Therefore, as soon as the French interpretation of Japanese boots became a symbol of avant-garde luxury, many brands decided to repeat the success. Nike was the first to do this, introducing the Air Rift sneakers in 1996. Officially, the designers were inspired by the shoes of Kenyan runners, but the recognizable silhouette with a split toe is unmistakable. The popularity of the model turned out to be so high that the brand still regularly returns it to its collections.

Japanese Suicoke is also actively playing with form, offering experiments like the Bita-V silhouette, and the young ILYSM brand, founded by former Yeezy designer Sarah Jaramillo, produces bright tabis in catchy colors. Today, 36 years after the high-profile debut on the catwalks, split-toe shoes do not lose their relevance.

Moreover, according to reputable glossy publications, tabis have become the most popular shoes of 2025, largely due to the stars and influencers who choose them for red carpet appearances. Russia also did not stand aside. Tabis of various formats are increasingly found on marketplaces, from affordable models to luxury versions, which only confirms that today these shoes have a buyer for every taste and purse.

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The more fingers, the more fashionable

Despite the popularity of two-toed shoes, true fashionistas have moved on. Nowadays, FiveFingers from the Vibram brand are particularly popular in narrow circles — shoes in which each finger gets its own "pocket". Originally created as a sporty alternative to running and yoga shoes, fifefingers suddenly became the focus of the fashion community. Their radical appearance fits perfectly into the aesthetics of post—irony - the weirder, the more interesting.

If tabis represent a cultural bridge between East and West, then Vibram FiveFingers can be called a symbol of a new fashionable era, where functionality and radical design merge together. They have a spirit of experiment that is close to the ideas of Maison Margiela, that is, the desire to break familiar boundaries, to show that fashion can be both utilitarian and conceptual.

In Russia, FiveFingers are still a niche choice — they are more often found in yoga studios or among the "chosen ones" who are not afraid to experiment with the image. But as Tabi's example shows, it is precisely such radical experiments that eventually become symbols of the era. Perhaps soon the "five-finger shoe" will cease to be exotic and will turn into another object of mass desire.