Parade Underwear's "Wild Ride" Is Over—Why the Gen Z Brand Is Closing
Here's why the once-revolutionary brand is gone for good.
When it launched in 2019, Parade underwear felt like more than just underwear. The brand, founded by Cami Téllez and Jack DeFuria in a Columbia University dorm room, registered like Gen Z's rebuke to Victoria's Secret. Its inclusive sizes ranged from XS to 3XL, a rarity at the time. Its unretouched campaigns were fronted by real-life ambassadors, known as "Parade Friends," and posted exclusively to Instagram. But the early momentum fizzled out over its six years in business, leading to a 2023 takeover by Fruit of the Loom owners Ariela Associates. Now, Parade is closing its doors for good.
The brand posted a statement to its Instagram account on October 25 announcing its closure. By October 28, Parade's entire online store was replaced by a holding page sharing the same message.
“Parade was created with the intention to welcome you all to express yourself in full-spectrum color with confidence, and we hope we were able to create that space for you. We are so proud of this community we’ve built," the closing statement reads. "Inventory is limited on the site, but we hope you'll grab a pair to remember us by."
Parade's underwear was known for irreverent, colorful designs and inclusive sizing.
In the company's words, the last six years had been a "wild ride" for the brand. At its height, Parade had contracted more than 10,000 ambassadors and generated $10 million in annual revenue, per the Business of Fashion. Like other 2010s and 2020s challenger underwear brands like Savage x Fenty and ThirdLove, Parade sought to make the intimates landscape more inclusive. For a time, it had an advantage by designing patterns and prints that courted Gen Z specifically.
By 2023, Parade's rapid ascent sent it down a path trod by brands like Outdoor Voices and Away. Reports surfaced in outlets like Business Insider detailing mounting financial difficulties as it continued chasing more growth. She later stepped down from her role when Parade was sold to its new owners, Ariela Associates, for an undisclosed sum. In the two years since, once-loyal shoppers have frequently lamented declining quality and customer service in the label's Instagram comments and on forums like Reddit.
Cami Téllez founded Parade with her business partner, Jack DeFuria, in 2019.
Online, reactions to Parade's closure fell into two camps: shoppers who were disappointed to see the brand shut down, and shoppers who didn't feel the label lived up to its Instagram hype.
Marie Claire culture writer Quinci Legardye has shopped at Parade since 2022 for pajamas and loungewear. She called the label's shut-down a "shame."
"They're one of a few brands that sell cozy, trendy intimates in inclusive sizing that have shut down in the past few years, as well as Love, Vera," she says. "Without these brands, plus-size shoppers like me have very few options for cute, fun, affordable clothing."
Meguire Hennes, a member of Parade's target Gen Z demographic and a Marie Claire fashion writer, has mixed feelings about the brand's unexpected end. "The brand quite literally marketed their site to me, a 23-year-old sick of boring five-pack underwear. Unfortunately, they weren't as comfortable as their viral ads advertised," she says. "As someone particularly excited to wear plaid undies, I was sad they didn't work for me. However, you'll never catch me cheering when a label goes under."
Parade always offered the same items for every size in its range.
Parade's closure arrives at a time when several venture-backed brands and small fashion businesses are experiencing financial turmoil, with root causes ranging from unpredictable tariffs to changing shopper preferences. While fashion has always been a difficult business, this brand's closing seemed unthinkable at its early-2020s peak.
"There are watershed brands that have redefined how brands should think, feel, act, and create," Téllez told Elle in 2022. "My goal is that Parade will be one of them."
