Apparel IPOs Make a Quiet Comeback

Ashley Morgan • August 5, 2026 • 2 min read

Apparel companies like Reformation and Shein are leading the IPO comeback in the fashion industry with recent public offerings and upcoming listings.

Fashion companies are slowly recovering from the IPO slump that has affected the consumer-goods industry in recent years. Women’s wear brand Reformation went public on the New York Stock Exchange on July 30, raising $210.9 million at a valuation of $886.1 million.

Tailored Brands, which owns Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank, filed a registration statement to go public on July 13. Meanwhile, e-commerce company Shein is targeting an IPO in Hong Kong as early as late August.

The fashion industry is experiencing a welcome change, dealing with tariffs and strained consumer confidence in recent years. Although the outlook for IPOs is still uncertain, some companies have managed to make their public-market debuts.

IPOs increased in 2021 as companies took advantage of a soaring stock market and low interest rates. However, economic uncertainty made it a less-than-ideal time to go public in recent years. Tariffs affected consumer brands manufacturing abroad in markets like China.

Andrew Dunst, managing director at The Sage Group, stated that it was very hard to gauge the run-rate earnings of companies when tariff rates were moving all over the place. Tariffs have come down from recent highs, providing some relief for retail companies.

The beverage brand Suja Life went public in May, while others, such as 7-Eleven’s parent company, have altered their timelines due to economic pressures. Even major corporations like SpaceX have faced challenges, with its June IPO erasing almost $1 trillion in stock market value in five weeks.

Companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are presenting a challenge for consumer companies in fashion or otherwise. They are expected to go public soon, targeting $1 trillion exits. This raises concerns about whether there is enough institutional capital for other companies to go public.

Emily Zheng, a senior research analyst at PitchBook, noted that with all these large names potentially going public at the same time, that brings up concerns about whether there is enough institutional capital for everyone else. Zheng also mentioned that OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX are raising more capital than all VC-backed IPOs in the last decade.

For some consumer companies, it may make sense to wait and see how the market plays out before moving forward with an IPO, buyout, or acquisition. However, other factors are complicating matters for companies looking for strategic exits, especially those in the fashion world.

One of the biggest issues is that traditional apparel strategics are looking inward and are not in a position to take big bets on businesses.

There is still healthy investor appetite for fashion brands, especially digitally-native ones. Reformation’s recent IPO is encouraging.

Companies with a loyal customer base and consistent sales are set up for success if conditions continue to improve, said PitchBook’s Zheng.

They will have to handle the challenges of the market to achieve success.