For quite some time now, the best way to make some noise in the sneaker world has been by collaborating aggressively. Think of big-time, high-profile collabs like Adidas and Prada, semi-indie
hits like Salehe Bembury and New Balance, and instant classics like Union and Air Jordan: A massive chunk of excitement in the sneaker world is generated through team-ups. Of course, it can sometimes feel like a cycle of brands trying to one-up each other. But that doesn't have to be a bad thing, and a new shoe from Maison Margiela and Reebok proves just that. Please meet the Tabi Instapump Fury, a demented mash-up of an eccentric fashion boot and a supercharged basketball sneaker.
This thing is a beast. But that should be expected when the starting point is already two insanely out-there silhouettes. ]Let's start with Margiela's Tabi boot. It first debuted in a 1989 collection and was embraced by fashion's diehards almost instantly, but only recently became widely available for men. The design looks unmistakably like a hoof, but it was inspired by split-toe work booties popularized in Japan. Now take the Reebok InstaPump Fury, an aggressively athletic sneaker outfitted with a pump and other perplexing design details. (It's also an unlikely fashion hit: brands like Chanel, Vetements, Sandro, and more have remixed the silhouette to their liking.) Combine these two very outlandish styles, and you get the Tabi Instapump Fury—far, far gnarlier than the sum of its parts.
The style is being offered in all-black and all-white (both nods to the original Tabi boots), while other colorway options include yellow, black, and red, or white, blue, and red—a callback to Reebok's original sneaker. The Tabi Instapump Fury is big and commanding, piled with layers of glossy plastic with indents and cutaways. It's as much aggressive Photoshop experiment as runway sneaker, seemingly designed to be memed as often as it is worn. Yet, in the bizzaro sneaker landscape that is 2020, it doesn't feel too far-fetched that a Frankensteined pair of footwear like this one might find itself embraced by avant-garde sneakerheads. When it comes to sneakers, stranger things have happened.
