The newest trend in fashion: Retailers filing for bankruptcy.

Just weeks after American Apparel acknowledged that bankruptcy might be an options, the once hottest brand in teen fashion filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  Quicksilver, who was the first surf company to go public, filed for bankruptcy in the US on September 9.

According to a press release from Quicksilver, the purpose of the bankruptcy filing is to “restore the Company to long-term financial health.”  The Chapter 11 bankruptcy is designed to restructure Quicksilver’s debt and company in order to make it profitable.

On the other hand, the press release states that “The Company’s European and Asia Pacific businesses and operations remain strong and are not part of the filing.”  It will be interesting to see if and whether Quicksilver will emerge out of this bankruptcy filing in a stronger position.

The fast fashion trend has been brutal on a number of retailers.  As Paula Rosenblum states, “There are two keys to the success of Fast Fashion: one is clearly price. The other is a continuous supply of fresh, cute clothes.”  While retail chains such as Forever 21 continue to push out new styles at low prices, traditional retailers are forced to find a way to keep up or end up at the footsteps of bankruptcy court.