Will this be the shoe trend of this summer?
You either hate them or you love them. I don't think there's a middle ground. The plastic shoes, also known as water shoes, that catapult you back to the 2000s without hesitation, have made a comeback in recent years and are appearing again this summer. From transparent slippers with kitten heels to colorful ballerinas with mesh: the nostalgic jelly shoe is back.
According to experts, the appeal of these “ugly” shoes lies entirely in nostalgia. Jelly shoes feel like a memory of the past for many. As if you're stepping out of a Polly Pocket world with your feet. Including the smell of PVC, the sound of crackling slippers on smooth tiles, and neon transparent colors that were once inseparable from the beach. They are actually a kind of swim shoes, but now in 2026 for under oversized balloon pants, (denim) bermuda jorts, or slip dresses, for example.
I am an absolute fan, precisely because they are so ugly that I find them fun, but Hanna literally just said: “No sorry, I'm really trying to give them a chance, but I just have to think about surviving and trudging through ditches and puddles.” So yes, opinions here in the office differ quite a bit. Maybe it also has to do with the fact that millennials really know jelly shoes from the past. My mother wore them on many vacations at Lake Garda. So not necessarily as a fashion item, but as practical beach shoes for vacation. It's nice how functional and fashionable can go hand in hand. Gen Z has that memory much less and therefore sees them more as something funny and cool. Personally, I also associate them more quickly with Pinterest and runway images. For example, look at the Spring/Summer 2026 shows from Chloé and Loewe, where jelly shoes appeared on the runway in various variations. From transparent kitten heels and fisherman sandals to jelly ballerinas and mules. Celebrities also seem to be fans by now. For instance, Jennifer Lawrence, Taylor Swift, and Hailey Bieber have been spotted regularly in recent years wearing jelly sandals or transparent plastic shoes.
Where winter was mainly about minimalism and less is more, the upcoming summer is colored in striking shades like butter yellow, bright blue, bright red, and transparent candy colors.
I don't know about you, but I have clearly been influenced by these “Jelly's”. I have already pulled out the slipper variant from Diesel several times. Whether they will become an absolute hit or be a bit of a no-go? Opinions are probably still divided on that.
