GANNI and Melissa launched their second jelly footwear capsule globally on May 18, 2026, with two styles, five colorways, and prices starting at $131. The collection landed at shopmelissa.com, ganni.com, Nordstrom, Shopbop and Anthropologie following a pre-launch event in Rio de Janeiro. Industry watchers see the drop as a confirmation that the jelly shoe revival, well underway since spring 2025, has become one of the dominant summer 2026 footwear stories.
Image: Courtesy of GANNI / Melissa.
Collection Details
The Ganni x Melissa 2026 capsule comprises two silhouettes. The Melissa Thong Kitten Heel retails for $179. The Melissa Flip Flop Slim retails for $131. Both styles use Melissa’s signature injection-moulded jelly construction and feature a ruffle strap detail on the toe thong.
Each style is offered in five colorways: red, yellow, blue, black and leopard print. The shoes are 100% vegan and produced from recyclable material, consistent with GANNI’s B-Corp certification. Distribution covers shopmelissa.com, ganni.com, Nordstrom, Shopbop, Anthropologie and select boutiques worldwide.
The pricing positions the capsule below most current designer footwear collaborations. For reference, the recently announced Balenciaga x Manolo Blahnik collaboration sits at a markedly higher tier, while accessible-luxury collabs like the Havaianas x Isabel Marant flip-flop collection occupy a similar price band.
Creative Direction and Brand Partnership
This is the second collaboration between the two brands; the debut capsule launched in 2023. The 2026 release was framed by the campaign tagline “Two icons. One vision,” positioning the partnership between Copenhagen’s free-spirit aesthetic and Brazil’s creative manufacturing tradition.
“With Melissa, we wanted to capture that endless summer feeling in Copenhagen. Shoes that are fun, expressive, and easy to wear from morning to night.” — Ditte Reffstrup, Creative Director, GANNI
Paulo Pedó, Brand Director at Melissa, said GANNI “brings a distinctly original perspective to dressing — balancing attitude with playful irreverence that reflects everyday Danish style.” Reffstrup also cited personal nostalgia, telling WWD she “grew up with” jelly shoes and views them as both playful and expressive.
The collaboration arrives during an unusually dense calendar of designer partnerships. May 2026 alone has seen the Simone Rocha x Crocs fifth collection and the Coach x Brain Dead collaboration hit shelves, reflecting brand strategies that pair heritage manufacturers with editorially-driven labels.
The Jelly Shoe Moment in 2026
The Ganni x Melissa drop sits inside a broader market shift. WWD reported in May 2026 that jelly shoes are returning “for another summer,” with the category taking on “stranger” shapes as designers experiment with the silhouette. Melissa has anchored the resurgence through a string of collaborations, including projects with Nodaleto and Susan Fang across the 2025–26 seasons.
The trend is driven by two convergent forces: Y2K nostalgia and a wider 2026 appetite for playful, color-forward summer dressing. The same nostalgia cycle is fuelling launches like the Roxy x Juicy Couture Y2K collection. Jelly as a material has also expanded beyond footwear, with retailers reporting strong demand for the jelly tote bag trend heading into summer.
The kitten heel format aligns with two further footwear stories of the season: the broader wedge sandal trend 2026 and the breakout ruched loafers trend, both pointing to a market favoring structured comfort over flat minimalism. For trend context, WWD has published its full analysis of the jelly shoe summer 2026 trend.
Where to Buy
The Ganni x Melissa 2026 capsule is available at the following retailers as of May 18, 2026:
- Official brand sites: GANNI x Melissa collection at shopmelissa.com and GANNI x Melissa at ganni.com.
- US department stores: Nordstrom and Shopbop are carrying the full size and colorway range.
- Specialty retail: Anthropologie has both styles in selected colorways.
- International: Select boutiques across Europe, the UK and Asia-Pacific.
Stock at launch was reported as limited across colorways, with leopard and red moving fastest at US retailers in the first 48 hours.
What to Watch Next
Industry attention now turns to whether Melissa extends its run of designer partnerships into the fall 2026 calendar and whether GANNI returns for a third capsule in 2027. For ongoing coverage of the season’s most significant collaborations and footwear releases, see our reporting on the wider designer collab market.
