End of an era for California cool as iconic retailer files for bankruptcy

A retailer once hailed as the epitome of California cool has filed for bankruptcy, becoming the latest casualty of the so-called 'retail apocalypse' gripping the US. It was beloved by young Americans for its bright colored clothes and cutting-edge commercials, including one featuring a teenage Gwyneth Paltrow in 1991. The brand was beloved by young Americans for its bright colored clothes and cutting-edge commercials, including one featuring a teenage Gwyneth Paltrow in 1991 Esprit, which was founded in San Francisco in 1968, surged in popularity in the 1980s and 1990s The company will close its 38,000 square-foot Manhattan headquarters, it announced. The company closed all its brick-and-mortar stores in the US in 2012, but kept some locations operating in Europe Esprit, which was founded by Susie and Doug Tompkins, appealed to the youth with its laid-back California style and sustainable ethos. Doug and Susie Tompkins posing with Esprit employees in 1985 Esprit filed notices of Chapter 7 bankruptcy in New York on Monday, having wracked up more than $3 million in liabilities Esprit executive Susie Tompkins works with designers Karen Johnson and Doreen Chen in the 1980s It comes amid widespread store closures across the US.