A bidding war may be about to begin for Barneys New York, the beleaguered luxury department store chain that declared bankruptcy in August and became a cautionary tale of retail hubris and the death of shopping as we once knew it.

One buyer could mean the liquidation of all of the retailer’s stores, while another could preserve at least some of the Barneys shoppers know today.

[Update: Barneys New York is sold for scraps, ending an era.]

On Tuesday, Authentic Brands Group, the owner of over 50 brands including Nine West, Nautica and Hickey Freeman, made a formal $264 million offer for Barneys that was accepted by the store’s lenders. That began an auction process that will take place over the next week. At least one other bidder has declared intent: a consortium of New York investors led by Sam Ben-Avraham, the co-founder of the streetwear brand Kith and owner of a group of trade shows.

The two represent starkly different visions for Barneys’ future, and reflect the shift in fashion that has taken place over the last decade. The rise of contemporary and then streetwear brands reshaped consumer wardrobes and shopping patterns, as elitism was trounced by accessibility, and brick-and-mortar emporia went from being magnetic landmarks to millstones weighing down the bottom line.