Every fashion cycle throws up a few ‘ugly’ items that either quietly disappear or quietly become staples. Tabi socks have been through several of these cycles now — the Margiela moment in 1988, the Nike Air Rift moment in 1996, the current streetwear revival — and each time, the same question resurfaces.

Are these actually going to stick around? Or is this just a moment?

If you’ve come across tabi recently — on social media, in Vogue, Harper's Bazaar or Hype Bae, on the feet of someone whose style you quietly noticed — you might be wondering the same thing.

I’d argue the answer is genuinely and decisively: they’re here to stay.

Not because I sell them (though I do), but because tabi has passed the ultimate test of time long before even our great grandparents were even around. It’s been having a moment for over a thousand years.

Here’s why.

What actually makes something a trend

A trend, in fashion terms, is a design that gains popularity because it’s novel — and loses popularity when the novelty fades. Trends are aesthetically driven. They exist because they look different from what came before, and they die when they start to look tired.

Durable designs work differently.

They stay in circulation because they solve a real problem better than the alternatives. The Chelsea boot. The trench coat. The white t-shirt. These aren’t fashionable exactly when seen in isolation — they’ve simply always worked, and worked better than most of what’s been introduced since.

Tabi socks sit firmly in the second category. They solve a real set of problems — how to wear socks with sandals, how to give the foot better mechanics, how to look considered without trying too hard — and they’ve been solving them, essentially unchanged, since the Heian period (794–1185 CE).

That’s genuinely rare. Most fashion is churn. Very few designs earn a thousand years in circulation.

Tabi’s history, very briefly

Tabi originated in Japan around the 5th century, evolving from a Chinese foot-covering called shitozu. The distinctive split-toe design emerged in the Heian period, specifically to accommodate the thong of Japanese zōri and geta sandals.

By the Muromachi period (1336–1573), tabi were standard wear for samurai — often crafted from leather for ceremonial and military use. In the Edo period (1603–1867), cotton trade with China made tabi widely available to ordinary people, and they became part of everyday Japanese life.

Since then, tabi have been present at almost every significant moment in Japanese cultural life. Tea ceremony (worn in white, symbolising purity). Kabuki theatre (bright white against the polished stage). Weddings (part of the shiromuku bridal look). Shinto shrines (worn by priests and miko). Sumo (worn by referees). Martial arts (worn in some forms of iaido and kendo). Schools (worn as indoor shoes by children in some regions).

That’s over 1,200 years of continuous presence across every major cultural context. Trends do not survive that.

Every time tabi returns, it comes back stronger

Tabi has resurfaced in Western consciousness three distinct times in the last forty years — and each resurfacing has been bigger than the last.

1988 — Maison Margiela.

Belgian designer Martin Margiela introduced his tabi boot in his first Paris fashion show. Models walked on white cloth painted with red on the soles, leaving deliberate footprints. The split-toe silhouette entered high fashion. That single show reshaped conversations about what a shoe could look like — and the tabi boot has appeared in almost every Margiela collection since.

1996 — Nike Air Rift.

Nike released the Air Rift — a split-toe running shoe inspired by barefoot runners in Kenya. Named after the Great Rift Valley, coloured after the Kenyan flag. It became a cult favourite in the late 1990s and has been reissued repeatedly ever since.

The 2020s — streetwear and TikTok.

The Margiela tabi boot became a genuine phenomenon in the late 2010s and early 2020s. A$AP Rocky, Bella Hadid, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Cate Blanchett have all worn them publicly. TikTok made split-toe a talking point. The ‘ugly shoe’ era arrived — and tabi was firmly at its centre.

Notice the pattern. Each resurgence involves a completely different context — high fashion, sportswear, streetwear — and each time, the split-toe design proves it works in that new context. That’s not what trends do. Trends stay in one lane and burn out. Tabi keeps finding new lanes.

Why the design keeps working (the biomechanical case)

The reason tabi keeps coming back isn’t nostalgia. It’s that the underlying design is genuinely good — and the reasons it works in 2026 are the same reasons it worked in 794.

The split between the big toe and the rest of the foot allows the toes to spread naturally, distributing body weight more evenly across the foot. This isn’t cosmetic. It’s biomechanically superior to a rounded toe.

A body of research now backs this up:

·       Research from the Marugo Tabi Company in Japan found that consistent tabi wear increases toe strength by around 30% within a month.

·       Research from the University of Tsukuba found that split-toe socks improve circulation in the feet compared to conventional socks.

·       Associate Professor Dr Jun Kaneko at Chukyo University published research showing that split-toe designs help the big toe return to a more natural position, reducing bunion (hallux valgus) formation — particularly in children, where the design has been used as indoor school footwear.

None of these findings are going to be outmoded by a fashion cycle. The biomechanical reasons tabi works are permanent. That’s the kind of durability you can’t fake with marketing.

Why the current moment isn’t the peak

There’s an argument going around that the current tabi moment is about to fade. I think the opposite. Three cultural trends are converging that all favour tabi’s continued rise.

The ‘ugly shoe’ era is actually the ‘meaningful shoe’ era.

What people are really responding to when they buy Crocs, Birkenstocks, tabi boots and split-toe socks isn’t the ugliness. It’s the sense of being an antidote to disposable, aesthetically hollow fashion. Meaningful design lasts, and readers can tell the difference.

Sustainability is becoming non-negotiable.

Tabi’s history — a design that has literally survived a thousand years, made from natural fibres, built for years of wear — is one of the strongest sustainability stories in fashion. That story is only becoming more relevant as consumers push back against fast fashion.

Wellness culture is catching up.

Barefoot shoes, minimalist footwear, toe-strengthening exercises, foot-health awareness — all growing rapidly. Tabi sits at the intersection of style and foot health more comfortably than almost any other sock does. As wellness culture keeps expanding, tabi is one of the most natural beneficiaries.

If anything, we’re at the start of the current tabi cycle, not the end.

What the ‘ugly fashion’ era really reveals

The rise of Crocs, Birkenstocks, Uggs, split-toe boots and clogs isn’t a coincidence. It’s a cultural correction. After a decade of Instagram-perfected aesthetic minimalism, people started actively wanting things that looked considered, physical, and slightly odd — things that felt like real objects rather than photographs of objects.

Ugly fashion isn’t about aesthetic rebellion. It’s about wanting design that has weight and history to it. Something you’d be happy to still be wearing in five years, not just this season.

Tabi fits that appetite exactly. Which is why — even though ‘ugly’ isn’t how anyone at Tabi Co. would describe our socks — the current cultural moment has been so kind to the design. And why the moment isn’t about to end.

Why Tabi Co. exists in this story

When I started Tabi Co., it wasn’t because I saw a trend I wanted to ride. It was because I’d been quietly obsessed with tabi for years, was struggling to find a good range in the UK, and realised most people around me had never even encountered the design.

The mission of the brand is specific: to make tabi more accessible in the UK, to introduce people to the design who might not have found it themselves, and to be here for the long term — because tabi will be!

We’re a durable-design business, with tabi at the centre. Our range is built on cotton-rich blends, hemp, wool, and considered natural-fibre choices. We source from Japan and from reputable manufacturers in China who share our standards. We design in-house. Every pair is judged against the standards you’d expect from something built to last decades of wear.

Because tabi will still be here in 2050. And so will we.

Frequently asked questions

Are tabi socks really not a trend?

Correct. A trend by definition rises and falls with novelty. Tabi socks have been continuously worn in Japan for over 1,000 years and have entered Western fashion three separate times in the last four decades. That’s not a trend cycle — it’s an enduring design. 

But isn’t the current tabi moment just a passing fashion phase?

It’s certainly a moment. But the underlying design — the split-toe shape — is biomechanically superior to a rounded toe, has genuine cultural depth in Japan, and keeps proving relevant in different contexts (high fashion, sportswear, streetwear). The moment will end. The design will remain.

Why do some people find tabi ugly?

Because it’s unusual, and unusual triggers a discomfort response in a lot of people initially. The same was true of Crocs, Uggs and Birkenstocks — all now completely mainstream. Unusual becomes familiar. Once familiar, it becomes classic.

Are tabi socks and tabi shoes different things?

Yes. Tabi socks are the traditional Japanese split-toe sock, dating back over a thousand years. Tabi shoes evolved from tabi socks — most famously the jika-tabi work boot (from the 1920s) and the Margiela tabi boot (from 1988).

Should I try tabi socks?

Genuinely, yes. We are biased but we can back it up too.

They’re the easiest possible entry into split-toe design. Once you’ve worn them for a couple of weeks, conventional socks start to feel oddly restrictive. Any pair from our basics collection would make a comfortable and easy introduction for your first pair!

Trends come and go. Tabi doesn’t.

Trends come and go. Tabi socks have been through

• the samurai era,
• the tea ceremony era,
• the industrial revolution,
• the collapse of Japan’s traditional textile industry,
• the arrival of Western fashion in Japan,
• and multiple waves of Western rediscovery.
• They’ve been worn by warriors, priests, actors, farmers, wrestlers, artists — and now, increasingly, everyone.

That isn’t a trend. That’s a durable design that’s been quietly outlasting fashion for a thousand years, and will keep doing so for a thousand more.

Explore the full range at Tabi Co. Sign up to the newsletter and there’ll be a little gift towards your first pair!

And if you’re new to split-toe — welcome. You’re joining a very old story!!