Maison Margiela Tabis just sold for €364,000 The most expensive Margiela shoes in the world
Belgian designer Martin Margiela, who stepped down from the maison in 2009, spent his entire career cultivating anonymity, scrupulously avoiding the camera's flash. Yet, seventeen years after retiring from the fashion world, the mysterious designer set the capital abuzz. This Thursday, July 9, a portion of his personal archives went under the hammer, bringing in a handsome total of over one million euros. At the pinnacle of this historic auction, a world record was shattered for the designer's most iconic creation.
A historic auction in the heart of Paris
Organized by auction house Maurice Auction in collaboration with Kerry Taylor Auctions, this unprecedented sale of 195 lots from Martin Margiela’s private collection concluded after a five-day public exhibition that drew the who's who of Paris. Hosted at Le Quartier Général, the event took place on the fringes of Paris Haute Couture Week.
Throughout the week, this exceptional collection sparked rare enthusiasm. Collectors, museum curators, and fashion enthusiasts flew in from all corners of the globe specifically for the occasion. In total, the sale mobilized over 1,500 participants representing 41 nationalities, cementing the designer's global impact. International bidders drove prices sky-high, fueled by a massive turnout from Asia, including Japan, South Korea, China, and Southeast Asia.
The iconic Tabi and other underground treasures
The star lot of this memorable evening was a pair of graffiti-covered Tabi boots from 1991, originally created for the avant-garde exhibition "Le Monde Selon ses Créateurs" (The World According to its Creators). Estimated well below its final price, the pair was ultimately knocked down for the astronomical sum of €364,000, officially becoming the most expensive Margiela piece in history.
Beyond this record, the catalog was brimming with fascinating relics tracing the history of contemporary fashion. Bidders battled it out for a prototype of one of the full-face masks Martin Margiela had his models wear to conceal their identity - a conceptual tactic designed to focus all attention on the garments rather than "top model" status. The auction also featured Barbie dolls, used by the designer as miniature mannequins to drape his micro-collections, as well as rare pieces from his tenure as creative director at Hermès between 1997 and 2003, some of which had belonged to his own mother.
Far more than a simple fashion auction, the event transformed into a profound dive into the designer’s intimate world. Working documents, everyday objects, prototypes, and sketches drew a diverse circle of buyers.
The designer who sought to remain invisible has never been talked about more. Totaling over one million euros, the dispersal of Martin Margiela’s personal archives - crowned by the €364,000 world record for the iconic Tabi - marks a turning point. Seventeen years after leaving the stage, the Belgian designer proves that his radicalism hasn't aged a day.
