The Row’s $890 Jelly Shoes Sparked an Obsession With the ‘90s Sandal

Emma Childs

May 15, 2024 at 4:39 AM·4 min read

Model wearing The Row's mara jelly sandal flat in red walking on wood. — Credit: The Row

It was the sandal heard worldwide at The Row's Summer 2024 show, held last September in Paris. The collection opened with a model in ruby-red rubber mesh sandals, giving off the all-too-recognizable squelchy sound that can be attributed to just one shoe: the jelly sandal pulled right out of the '90s fashion vault.

But these weren’t the squishy shoes you wore with butterfly hair clips and baby tees as a tween. These were the even better versions of your best jelly sandals—more like elegant, rubberized, beach-friendly ballet flats.

Following their runway debut, The Row's caged silhouette—the Mara Flat—went viral within the fashion bubble. Show-goers who witnessed them first-hand anointed them a top accessory trend of summer 2024. Retail consultant and author of Substack’s Sarah's Retail Diary, Sarah Shapiro, recalls her circle of industry friends buzzing with projections on how fast the luxury sandal would sell out. Meanwhile, author and fashion arbiter Leandra Medine Cohen predicted they would be the season's most prolific silhouette. "The jelly glove-style flats that appeared on The Row's [Summer 2024] runway will be the greatest [trend] explosion we will face this summer," she wrote in a recent edition of her newsletter, The Cereal Aisle. We are about to have, Medine Cohen prophecized, a very jelly summer.

Three models walking in The Row's Summer 2024 show wearing the jelly Mara Flats in red, blue, and clear.

Their insider instincts were correct: The Row’s clear jelly sandals hit retailers a few months ago at $890 a pop, and all four colorways promptly sold out across the Internet (and have continued to sell out restocks almost immediately). But not before Jennifer Lawrence, a famed fan of the luxury brand, got her hands on a pair. In late June, Lawrence took the jelly sandal trend out for a spin, styling The Row's caged rubber ruby red flats with all-white separates and a coordinating baseball cap. The actress's look was quintessentially quiet luxury.

Jennifer Lawrence wearing a white shirt, white pants, red The Row jelly sandals, and a red baseball cap

But the Olsens' version isn't the only one reviving the ‘90s jelly sandal. Ancient Greek Sandals updates the old-school shoe through its Iro Jelly Ballerina and Eli Ballerina, two flats originally designed by co-founder Nikolas Minoglou’s grandfather and worn by his grandmothers Iro and Elli in the 1970s. A wholesome blend of family history and contemporary fashion, the shoe brand's re-designs became quick favorites among the fashion set.

Ancient Greek Sandals Iro

Jellz Slip-On

Campana Papel Flat

While not everyone has a familial link to footwear design, the success of Minoglou's old-yet-new shoes speaks to the core of 2024's jelly sandal trend—nostalgia. A jelly sandal takes you back to the early 2000s when your greatest worries were caring for your Tamagotchi pets and tuning in for the Spice Girls world tour.

Model Xie Chaoyu wears a blue shirt, white skirt, jelly sandals, and a black origami swan bag during London Fashion Week September 2018 on September 16, 2018 in London, England.

Ferragamo Vara Bow Jelly Ballerina Pumps

Ancient Greek Sandals Elli Jelly Ballerina Shoes

Mango Glitter Crab Ballerinas

Plus, as Shapiro points out, they're a natural evolution of an existing shoe trend dominating the market: “If you think about the popularity of the mesh ballet flats from Summer 2023, you can follow the through-line that leads to [net jelly flat],” the retail expert shares over email. For those on board with sock-like lattice slippers (coincidentally, another style produced by The Row), a caged jelly slip-on isn't too far of a leap.

Jelly, set, go!