After weeks of speculation, the fabled department store Barneys New York announced on Monday that it had filed for bankruptcy protection. An arbiter of cutting-edge luxury and creativity, Barneys has been a mainstay of the New York fashion scene since it opened its doors in 1923. Its standing was cemented 70 years later when it opened its flagship store, a nine-story building on Madison Avenue with large windows that let daylight stream in.

Department stores across the nation have struggled as social media changed shopping habits and consumers were lured online by lower prices, drastically reducing foot traffic. Yet Barneys’ woes faced heightened scrutiny, perhaps because of its reputation for shrugging off convention with an air of arrogance.

The attention may have hastened the retailer’s troubles, but it was also emblematic of what made Barneys special in the first place. It stood apart from other department stores as a symbol of aspirational elitism, an attitude of exclusionary elegance that made it a New York institution and a must-see destination for well-heeled shoppers.