Popular Fashion Brands That Have Filed For Bankruptcy In 2025

2025 seems like it's only just begun, and already a spate of corporate players have closed stores and filed for bankruptcy. Fashion brands have seen their fortunes fade significantly in recent years with the rise of fast fashion trends and low cost competitors like Shein. In the new year, several key names have already initiated bankruptcy proceedings, looking to liquidate holdings and close up shop — or restructure their finances to remain in the market. 

However, many brands –- those in the fashion world included –- have simply announced widespread store closures this year, either as part of a restructuring plan post-2024 bankruptcy or as a way to try and avoid bankruptcy altogether. Whether you're a patron of these closing brands or not, it's worth understanding what has sent each one into bankruptcy. Whether the knowledge will help you as an investor (perhaps these examples can help you dump companies that share certain qualities), ensure you can better support your own business, or simply provide comfort as a consumer who will miss their favorite shop, here's a look at the fashion brands that have already entered bankruptcy in 2025.

Hudson's Bay is a truly historic institution within the Canadian retail space. The brand is over 350 years old, having been chartered in 1670 by the British crown as a fur trading enterprise during colonial times. In the centuries since its foundation, Hudson's Bay has seen monumental evolution. Early in its history, the company participated in colonization that shattered Canada's First Nations communities, leaving a complicated past in its modern wake. In more recent times, Hudson's Bay transformed into a fashion retailer synonymous with Canada's rugged history of exploration. 1913 saw the brand open its first department stores in Canada, and in 1970, as part of its third centennial celebrations the company was officially transferred from British ownership to Canadian hands. The company has continued to expand, adding dozens of retail locations across Canada as well as penetrating the American market. 

However, in March 2025 "The Bay" (as it's frequently called) filed for creditor protection. The company intends to close nearly all of its 80 stores, leaving just six stores operational. The brand's demise is seemingly due to an influx of competition. In 2021 the company spun off its online division into a separate entity, but both its eCommerce storefront and the physical locations have struggled to compete against fast fashion options and the growing threat of discount retailers like Marshalls, TJ Maxx, and Winners — which all stock similar merchandise but for cut-rate prices across a higher volume of storefronts.

Another brand staring down the barrel of utter disaster is Forever 21. The company plans to close all of its stores by the end of April 2025. In March, the company initiated its second bankruptcy proceedings (having previously utilized the tool in 2019 to restructure after experiencing a buyout from several other companies including Authentic Brands Group or ABG). During its 2019 restructuring, internal decision making appeared to be the root cause of many of the company's struggles. These came after its cofounder, Jin Sook Chang, stepped back from her role in guiding the company's marketing and merchandising decisions.

In 2025, however, stiff competition from fast fashion retailers within the eCommerce world appear to be driving the financial ruin. Early suggestions point to a liquidation of the company's existing stock, while the brand name is maintained by ABG. Amid the bankruptcy process, every one of the company's more than 350 U.S.-based stores will close. While a last-minute buyer could take on the brand's physical presence — and its inventory –  things don't look great. Forever 21 reports debts that stand at least two times (and as much as 50 times) greater than its assets.

Liberated Brands is a different kind of animal from traditional retailers. For starters, the company isn't actually the owner of its offerings, but rather the distribution partner and licensee for surfing and outdoor relaxation lifestyle brands like Volcom, Billabong, and Quiksilver. As a license holder working in conjunction with the ownership company of these clothing brands — Authentic Brands Group (ABG) — the company essentially acted as a wholesale distributor and storefront manager for the retail locations selling these brands. However, the company lost part of its licensing agreement with ABG in December 2024, and faced significant cash flow issues as a result. Liberated Brands filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2025.

Part of the trouble that Liberated Brands has faced in recent years stems from the way it responded to success. The company's revenue figures increased from $350 million in 2021 to $422 million the following year (before signing licensing agreements for many of ABG's companies). In response to the expanded revenue generated, the company more than doubled its storefront volume, growing from 67 stores to 140. Then, in 2023, it acquired licensing rights from ABG. However, after these acquisitions, Liberated Brands faced significant hardship. In its bankruptcy filing, the company suggests its financial issues stemmed, in large part, from complications of the pandemic. As consumer behavior changed, so did demand, leading to a financial squeeze that ultimately led to the company's downfall.

Soleply is a little different in that this bankruptcy-filing fashion brand is in the business of shoes, not threads. Soleply filed for bankruptcy in March 2025 after seemingly overextending itself with leases in mall locations across the Northeast. High interest debt was utilized to finance store expansions into new retail marketplaces, fueling a cycle of instability that eventually led to cash flow troubles. The brand owes as much as $10 million to creditors (ranging from a single claimant to as many as 49). 

Soleply features a unique take on the shoe market. The brand's founders, Dustin Billow and Thomas Yoder have long been avid sneaker collectors, and there's a sizeable market for resale kicks out there. The duo founded this brand in 2021 as a resale marketplace where other collectors could browse an online catalog, as well as brick and mortar stock, when searching for the next addition to the sneaker collection. Buyers have been known to patronize the brand's locations from across state lines, so there was likely something special in this approach. Yet, overextension, and a rush to open new locations, appears to have floundered the company before it had a chance to flourish.