Popular fashion retail chain files Chapter 11 bankruptcy

• Major retailers like Forever 21 and Liberated Brands closed hundreds of U.S. mall stores.
• A smaller fashion designer retail chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, seeking reorganization and debt restructuring.
• Fierce competition and evolving consumer spending habits are among the challenges retailers face.

Consumers are often disappointed to learn when one of their favorite retail stores has gone dark.

A trip to most regional malls will reveal many empty store locations, including major anchor footprints and smaller retailer spaces.

Many malls still have large empty anchor spaces that were once occupied by Forever 21, which shut down all of its remaining 354 stores by May 1, 2025, after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy a second time on March 16, 2025.

A month before Forever 21 filed for bankruptcy, Liberated Brands, the operator of a portfolio of mall brands that included Volcom, Billabong, Quiksilver, Spyder, RVCA, Roxy, Honolua, and Captain Fin, liquidated and closed all 122 of its stores at malls across the country.

Liberated Brands store brands closed

• Volcom
• Billabong
• Quiksilver
• Spyder
• RVCA
• Roxy
• Honolua
• Captain Fin

Those retail spaces are easier for mall operators to lease to another tenant, but some of those retail spaces likely remain empty.

Iconic fashion retail chain Claire's filed bankruptcy for a second time on Aug. 6, 2025, but didn't close anywhere close to the number of stores that Forever 21 and Liberated Bands shut down, with 18 closures by Sept. 7.

Claire's gets a reprieve

But Claire's was lucky, compared to Forever 21 and Liberated, as private equity firm Ames Watson offered to purchase up to 950 of the chain's 2,750 stores out of bankruptcy for $140 million and continue operating.

Each of these retail chains faced similar economic challenges, including fierce competition and evolving consumer spending habits away from brick-and-mortar shopping to online spending. They also faced rising labor and product costs driven by inflation and increased tariffs.

Many of the same economic challenges have likely driven another smaller retail chain to file for bankruptcy protection.

Brooke Rodd Designs files for bankruptcy

Fashion retail chain Brooke Rodd Designs LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to reorganize its business, restructure its debt, and continue operating.

The debtor has not revealed specific reasons that drove it to file for bankruptcy.

The Santa Monica, Calif.-based fashion chain filed its Subchapter V petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles on Nov. 11, listing $100,000 to $500,000 in assets and $500,000 to $1 million in liabilities, according to What Now.

Brooke Rodd, which opened its first store in 2014, operates three stores in Santa Monica, including Brooke Rodd Boutique, Brooke Rodd Kids, and Brooke Rodd Lifestyle.

More bankruptcy:

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• 55-year-old women’s fashion company files Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Brooke Rodd Boutique is a women's designer apparel shop, while Brooke Rodd Kids is a baby and children's clothing store. Brooke Rodd Lifestyle is a home decor, gift shop, and bookstore.

Brooke Rodd also opened a store in Austin, Texas, in 2022, but the commute between California and Texas was too difficult for the owner to continue operating, and the store shut down in the fall of 2024.

Brooke Rodd stores:

• Brooke Rodd Boutique
• Brooke Rodd Kids
• Brooke Rodd Lifestyle

"At the end of the day, any profit I made in Austin went to traveling, renting cars, and keeping a second home in Texas," boutique founder Brooke Rodd wrote in a Facebook post.

"I loved my time spent there (esp all my amazing customers/friends) and there are many things I miss dearly about Austin but traveling back and forth every two weeks is not one of them!" Rodd wrote.

Brooke Rodd's music career

Rodd began her career in the music recording business in New York, first in her family's business, The Hit Factory Recording Studio, then as an A&R and music contracts executive with Arista Records before moving on the Island Def Jam Music, according to the Brooke Rodd website.

After a short photography career, Rodd moved West in 2010 and pursued a career in fashion, opening her first store in 2014 after winning on a Sundance Channel fashion reality show, "All On the Line With Joe Zee."

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