The Jelly Shoe Revival And Fashion's Return To Youthful Innocence

Forbes

9 hours ago

A photo from J.Crew's Instagram @jcrew captioned featuring the brand's Fisherman jelly sandals in the colorway cloud. (Photo courtesy of J.Crew)
J.Crew
Reestablishing hype around the flexible, durable and eternally-kiddish silhouette, the release of the jelly shoe across a range of both accessible and luxury brands speaks volumes about the nature of the current trend cycle, its shift towards youth-inspired products and modern shopper's desire for fashionable ease.
One of the brand's most applauded for its recent integration of the jelly shoe silhouette within its spring/summer collection is J.Crew, the multi-category retailer known for its influential takes on clothing classics.
A photo from Olympia Gayot's Instagram @olympiamarie photographed by Laura Jane Coulson. (Photo courtesy of J.Crew)
Laura Jane Coulson
In an interview with Olympia Gayot, creative director and head of design for J.Crew's womenswear and children's division, the designer discussed the trend and cited the the origins behind the brand's recent jelly sandal release, saying, 'The inspiration for the recent jelly sandals came from a trip I took to the Aeolian Islands off the coast of Italy last summer. The beaches are very rocky there and everyone wears what they call 'Medusa' sandals—which means jellyfish in Italian. You can find them anywhere there and are an absolute must for the water. I bought mine at the local convenience store and I ended up wearing them, and nothing else, for the entire trip.'
Gayot continued, saying, 'You can walk around in them as well as go in the water because they're fully waterproof! I used to wear them as a kid, and I've always thought they were so cute. I have wanted to put them in the line before but wasn't sure that people would necessarily understand them for adults. This felt like the perfect time to do it.'
A photo from Olympia Gayot's Instagram @olympiamarie photographed by Laura Jane Coulson. (Photo courtesy of J.Crew)
Laura Jane Coulson
Although the jelly shoe has returned to consumer's closets multiple times before—most recently being the early-t0-mid 2010's during a period where several fashion trends were heavily inspired by the 1990's—a closer examination of the style begs the question of why it has regained heightened popularity and what is it about the current iteration of the shoe that appeals to consumers?
While Gayot—and her eye for spotting fashion trends months in advance of their release—was easily attracted to the jelly shoe for its effortless functionality and brightly-colored design, the timelines of the childlike style's popularity lines up with the widespread popularization of 'kidult' buyers.
Coined by market analysts in response to a rising subgroup of consumers, the term 'kidult' describes adult shoppers interested in products traditionally marketed to children, but enhanced in some capacity for older patrons. These can include toys such as Lego Botanicals, movies such as 'Barbie' or the increasingly popular Labubu, the Pop Mart plush toy hailing from China and capturing consumer attention all across the U.S.
According to a recent report from market research group Circana, 'Sales of collectible toys grew almost 5% to represent 18% of overall volumes and 15% of value sales. On-trend small collectibles figures, trading card games and plush toys fueled sales year-round thanks to some manufacturers refreshing product lines to appeal to fans of all ages.'
In the same report, Juli Lennett, U.S. toys industry advisor at Circana, reflected on this growth and cited a lipstick effect-like response from consumers while dealing with the country's turbulent economic state.
'Toy sales experienced stabilization in 2024 as the industry moved from a state of correction to consistency,' she said. 'Stabilizing tailwinds including growth in the adult toy market helped balance out the headwinds including higher grocery prices and rising consumer debt. In 2025, I expect we will see the toy industry move from consistency to creativity; we have a stronger lineup of highly anticipated toyetic movies coming in 2025 and 2026 to stimulate growth for the industry.'
In the same interview with Gayot, the creative director agreed with this sentiment and described a similar take on the modern consumer and their current desire for whimsey above all.
'Regarding the revival of the jelly shoe, I think that consumers are looking for modern adaptations of youthful silhouettes in playful colorways because they're simply fun! They are looking for this sense of playfulness, adventure, and color. Jellies are like nail polish or candy. They literally look like jellybean colors. When you look down at your feet, you feel happy. Sometimes it's as simple as that,' said Gayot. 'I think it is also something to be said that they're waterproof, they won't get dirty, you can wash them off. They're very durable and they're flat so they are comfortable, and you can really wear them anywhere. You could literally pack this one pair of shoes for a two-week vacation, and you're done.'
Like J.Crew, many brands are using the current climate of modern consumerism to tap into the wants of their target demographic and center the consumer with each new development.
'Being a designer for me is so much about observation. Everywhere I go whether on a vacation or just walking to work I'm watching everyone—what they're wearing how they're wearing it where they're going,' said Gayot. 'I'm also very aware of the fashion cycle and what's on the horizon. It's my job to have that instinct and be able to predict what's coming up based on seeing what's around the corner.'