October didn’t stop Hailey Bieber from stepping out in summer’s most controversial shoe. The model wore The Row’s $890 City sandal in Los Angeles on Wednesday, extending the flip-flop debate into fall.

The City sandal, features slim straps, a squared toe and a treaded leather sole — The Row’s formula for turning a beach staple into a luxury uniform.

Bieber paired the flip-flops with Levi vintage-washed jeans, a cropped white tee and a black leather bomber jacket. Slicked-back hair and her signature narrow sunglasses kept her look firmly in the off-duty register.

All summer, The Row’s flip-flops were a flashpoint — embraced by celebrities, critiqued for their cost and debated for their reinvention of a global staple. The brand has been at the center of the conversation since launching leather versions of the style priced between $690 and $890, including its cushioned Dune Classic. Kendall Jenner wore the same City sandal on repeat during her late-September New York visit, while Lori Harvey stepped out in the scarlet Dune in July and the City in August.

Not everyone’s buying it. In Brazil, where Havaianas are a national uniform, critics called out Copenhagen runways earlier this year for gentrifying a sandal they’ve worn for decades. The price tags have also stirred conversation, with some styles retailing for more than $700.

Still, the flip-flop has become a defining silhouette of 2025, appearing in street style, front rows and even film promotion. Blackpink’s Rosé favored matte black thongs in New York, Latto layered hers beneath Chanel gaiters at Wimbledon, and Jonathan Bailey made headlines in a tailored look finished with The Row’s sandals.

For Bieber, the footwear moment coincides with fresh momentum for her skin-care label Rhode. One day earlier, the brand announced the launch of its caffeine-infused Peptide Eye Prep patches, dropping Oct. 9 at Sephora. The release follows Rhode’s record-setting retail debut last month and E.l.f. Beauty’s $1 billion acquisition this spring, underscoring Bieber’s simultaneous impact in beauty and fashion.

By stepping into the City sandal this week, Bieber extends the trend into fall, signaling that the most divisive shoe of summer may carry through another season.