Dive Brief:

• The revival of several apparel retailers after bankruptcy or the brink of bankruptcy is a sign of the caution many apparel retailers and their investors feel, according to New York Magazine.

• This trend is also an indication of the strength of Xcel Brands, a four-year-old brand management company that helped revive Isaac Mizrahi’s struggling enterprise. The company has taken on C. Wonder recenly, which seemed to be done just a few weeks ago.

• Teen apparel retailers Delia’s, Limited Too, and Wet Seal also appear to be finding new life with new backing.

Dive Insight:

Delia’s, Limited Too, Wet Seal, Band of Outsiders, and C. Wonder — all retail brands on the skids that are also getting the gift of another chance.

Although, as New York Magazine reports, apparel brand revivals are nothing new, there seems to be a significant amount of faith placed on brands that have some track record. This could be a sign of the pull of nostalgia—certainly Wet Seal and Delia’s in particular—have a place in many millennials’ hearts. But it could also be the consequence of a risk-averse retail apparel sector, the magazine speculates.

But the magazine is also right to single out Xcel, a brand marketing company that seems to have discovered some kind of secret sauce to apparel retail. The company, which is planning an IPO, has helped breathe life into Isaac Mizrahi’s struggling retail efforts, helping him create a small empire of sorts. 

Xcel’s latest project is C. Wonder, the quirky home goods and accessories retailer founded three years ago by Tory Burch’s ex-husband, venture capitalist J. Christopher Burch, that flamed out quickly. Too quickly for many sources to imagine a comeback. After all, the retailer was new and beset with a few unwise moves in a short amount of time.

But Xcel clearly sees its potential. Thanks to Xcel, Fashion Police’s Brad Goreski has been named its creative director and will be the retailer’s on-air personality on shopping network QVC next spring.

"I want to make people feel excited and wonderful. I want them to feel that they are ready to have the best day of their life,” Goreski told Women’s Wear Daily about his new job for C. Wonder.