RED SOLES AND TABIS—TWO OF THE MOST POTENT FOOTWEAR SIGNATURES IN FASHION—ARE NOT, AT FIRST GLANCE, THE MOST OBVIOUS OF PAIRINGS. ONE, FOR DECADES, HAS BEEN THE ULTIMATE METONYM FOR HIGH-OCTANE, HIGH-GLOSS GLAMOUR. THE OTHER, A CULTISH EMBLEM OF FASHION’S AVANT-GARDE, ITS SPLIT-TOED SILHOUETTE A SILENT SYMBOL OF THOSE IN THE KNOW. AND YET, THOUGH THEY SIT AT SEEMINGLY OPPOSITE ENDS, THEY EXIST WITHIN THE SAME SPECTRUM: DESIGN CODES SO DISTINCT THAT THEY TRANSCEND THE NEED FOR BRANDING ENTIRELY. AND AS THEIR MUTUAL IYKYK STATUS REACHES A FEVER PITCH—DUPES FOR BOTH CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN’S SO KATES AND MAISON MARGIELA’S TABI FLATS ARE TOO MANY TO COUNT, AN UNFORTUNATE YET UNDENIABLE MARKER OF SUCCESS—THEIR COLLABORATION FEELS LIKE AN UNEXPECTED INEVITABILITY. TWO TOTEMS OF FOOTWEAR HISTORY, FINALLY CONVERGING.

À PROPOS OF JOHN GALLIANO’S FINAL ARTISANAL COLLECTION FOR MAISON MARGIELA, THE DESIGNER ENLISTED CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN TO AMPLIFY HIS VISION. “THIS IS A MARRIAGE, NOT A NEGOTIATION,” LOUBOUTIN RECALLS, SPEAKING OF THEIR COLLABORATION. AND INDEED, WHAT FOLLOWED WAS NOT ONE BUT TWO COLLECTIONS: ONE WHERE LOUBOUTIN REIMAGINES THE TABIS, CARVING THEIR CLEFT DEEPER, DRESSING THEM IN THE LANGUAGE OF HIS OWN FEMININITY, AND ANOTHER WHERE MARGIELA SUBVERTS THE SLEEK, HYPERSEXUAL POISE OF A LOUBOUTIN HEEL, REFRAMING IT THROUGH THE MAISON’S DECONSTRUCTIVIST LENS. IN BOTH INSTANCES, THE RESULT IS EXACTLY AS LOUBOUTIN DESCRIBES: A PERFECT MARRIAGE. PERHAPS IMPROBABLE, BUT, IN RETROSPECT, INEVITABLE.

BELOW, THE LEGENDARY FRENCH SHOEWEAR DESIGNER WALKS US THROUGH THE PROCESS OF CREATING THE HISTORIC COLLABORATION.

You and John Galliano have known each other since the beginning of your careers. What sparked this collaboration now?

John and I have known each other for years. From the moment he arrived in Paris as a fashion student, instantly at ease with the city, to the incredible designer he is today. Our collaboration was sparked quite naturally. We were having lunch with Alexis [Roche] one day, and John asked, “Would you consider doing something with me?” Without hesitation, I said yes. It wasn’t a calculated decision or a matter of checking schedules. It was an instinctive, genuine response. From that moment, ideas started flowing. It was clear this was more than just a collaboration; it was a continuation of an unspoken creative dialogue we’ve shared for years.

The last Margiela Artisanal Show was an undeniable historic moment in fashion. Could you sense the impact it would have on the industry, on culture?

We worked almost a year ahead of the show, and while I expected something extraordinary, because that’s what John does, the level of emotion it evoked was overwhelming. The construction of the clothes was astonishingly complex, layered, and precise, like nothing I’d seen before. Even knowing how impactful it would be, I wasn’t prepared for just how moving the final show would feel. The atmosphere, the rain falling softly like tears, the raw beauty of the presentation – it all created an emotional intensity that was impossible to predict. It wasn’t just a fashion moment; it was a deeply human one.

Maison Margiela and Christian Louboutin, to me, seem to sit on opposite sides of the same spectrum. Did you feel the need to compromise, or did you revel in the contrast?

We didn’t aim for compromise; that wasn’t the point. Instead, we embraced the contrast, using it as a creative spark. Margiela’s DNA, rooted in deconstruction and minimalist creativity, meeting my vision of femininity. It was like a game of creative ping-pong, with each identity pushing the other further. The goal was to let these two worlds collide and blend, not to dilute them. Finally, it looks like a collection that is a true marriage, not a negotiation.

That said, the red sole and the tabi toes share a common ground. What is your personal relationship with the role of Maison Margiela’s impact on fashion?

Maison Margiela is a brand that I have loved to wear for a long time now. Their approach to fashion is cerebral and emotional, there is a true exploration of shapes and materials. Both Tabi and the Red Sole are subtle but also very bold in terms of style, and this is the kind of statement that I like.

Maison Margiela has such an extensive archive. For this collaboration, was there a particular moment that you wanted to interpret?

The tabi shoe was an obvious touchstone, but it wasn’t about simply re-creating it. It was about distilling its essence. We took the iconic tabi split and pushed it, deepening the cut, almost erasing the excess to leave behind the purest form of the idea. It was about refining the signature until it became something new. The same went for my own elements, the Red Sole on the Martoubi, which was continued with the hand-painted red brush.

The project is also split in such an interesting way—your interpretation of Margiela and the Maison’s interpretation of your work. How much communication was there between the two teams when designing?

There was a lot of communication, but what stood out most was how instinctive it all felt. Seeing Margiela reinterpret the classic Louboutin codes, like the red sole, through their lens of minimalism and rawness was very interesting. It wasn’t about one Maison overpowering the other. It was about finding an unexpected harmony.

Again, as you said, this wasn’t a compromise, but so often, fashion collaborations can feel like one. Was there a moment in the process when you realized everything clicked?

Yes, from the very beginning, really. When John asked me to collaborate, and I immediately said yes even without knowing what he had in mind because I didn’t care; I knew that I would want to do something with him, there was an unspoken understanding between us. When we started doing the sketch, it was very interesting because it wasn’t just a Margiela shoe or a Louboutin heel – it was something entirely new, yet deeply familiar and recognizable for both.