J.Crew’s Madewell brand files for IPO

NEW YORK (AP) - Madewell, the fast-growing brand owned by J.Crew, has filed to become its own separate public company.

Known for its jeans, Madewell has thrived as J.Crew has fallen out of fashion. In the most recent quarter, sales at established J.Crew stores fell 4%, while they rose 10% at Madewell.

Other fashion companies are also looking to break out their more popular brands. Gap Inc. plans to split into two independent publicly traded companies, with the low-priced Old Navy spun out on its own.

Madewell, which has 132 stores, didn’t say how much money it planned to raise in its initial public offering or which stock market its shares would trade on.