Forever 21 is filing for bankruptcy for the second time in six years

Many fashion-conscious consumers of a certain age might recognize Forever 21’s plight. Ten to fifteen years ago, the retailer looked great: it was still winning over the younger crowd and, in many ways, was at its absolute peak. But, like so many brands before it have experienced, the cosmos shifted, the game changed, and Forever 21 was left stranded, wondering when exactly it had lost its edge.

Yesterday, the operating company behind Forever 21’s American business filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, though its US stores and website will remain open for now, with plans to host liquidation sales across the states further down the line. 

While international branches, which are owned and operated by different licensees, will be unaffected by the filing, the former mall favorite’s place in the wider fashion industry has looked precarious for years now. The US business was bought out of a messy bankruptcy by a group of investors in 2019, and went on to partner with fast-fashion giant Shein in 2023, as operators of the older brand looked to salvage some of the magic that had made it a go-to for teen fashion. Just two years and a fair amount of floundering later, the company is giving up that dream.

Faster fashion

As a fashion brand that truly came of age alongside millennials, Forever 21 is hardly alone in its struggle to keep up with cheaper, online alternatives like Shein and Temu. However, it doesn’t seem to have adapted quite as well as some of its competitors, like H&M or Zara, to the new age of retail, with online interest tailing off sharply in the years since the pandemic. Even brands like Abercrombie have found success “growing up with their audience” by catering to their changing needs: comfortable work wear or wedding outfits. Forever 21 just didn’t change with the times — maybe the clue was in the name.