This summer, the It Girls are wearing jelly. Beyond the popular jelly shoes from well-known brands like Melissa or even high-luxury brands like Chloé with their take on jelly mules, it’s no shock that jelly bags are having their moment. Even online platforms like TikTok and Instagram have had their share of users posting a new jelly bag trend on the rise.
Its name? The jelly Firkin—short for “fake” plus “Birkin.”
Hermès Birkin, but make it jelly
The jelly Firkin takes inspiration from the original Hermès Birkin, but is made from half-translucent, colorful PVC—or plastic that subtly reveals the contents inside the bag.
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Despite its flexible material, the Firkin has the structural integrity of a Birkin, including a curved fold-over flap, a padlock and key clochette, and the iconic turn-lock clasp. It also has the two top handles that are longer than the original, so it has the added functionality of being able to be carried on one’s shoulder.
The Firkin’s inspiration
Before the jelly dupe, there was the Birkin bag, created in 1983 by Hermès CEO Jean-Louis Dumas after singer-actress Jane Birkin expressed her frustrations with spillage in her travel bag.
Now, the Birkin has evolved from its original sturdy travel bag to the ultimate status symbol, renowned for its hand-stitched leather, distinctive shape, and hardware, as well as for being extremely challenging to buy in-store, needing a high purchase history and a sales associate you may have to befriend.
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This highly competitive process of purchasing a Birkin or other Hermès handbags has had people on the internet calling it the “Hermès Game,” and if you don’t have a lot of dough to play with, you can’t exactly participate in it. This is where the Jelly Firkin comes in: the Birkin’s funky jelly dupe that still keeps the original’s intention of functionality but is made with light, flexible material—and is, likewise, affordable.
To cop or not to cop?
As for the price, spoiler alert: you don’t have to spend around P700,00 to P1,000,000+ like the Birkin (that’s if you can even get one in store, not resale). You can easily get the Firkin for just around P1,000 on online shopping platforms like Shopee.
So if you want to splurge a bit on this jelly craze, other online shops like Jellova or Hello Flower Child sell different shapes like the shoulder Birkin silhouette, as well as other styles of Firkin bags, such as floral or croc prints.
Still, the Hermès Birkin remains a classic for a reason, as its craftsmanship and durable leather will forever be timeless. On the other hand, the jelly Firkin may be fun and trendy now, but will it truly stand the test of time in your closet?
Either way, there’s no need to find a sales associate and spend hundreds of thousands of pesos at the Hermès store for a purchase history just to test your luck on getting offered the authentic leather deal—which, mind you, isn’t even waterproof or can be easily cleaned with an easy wipe-down.
So, is jelly the way to go?