Known originally for its racks of conceptual black, eclectic home wares, and willingness to follow its own aesthetic compass rather than trends, Barneys was a magnet for new designers. It was a place for consumers to discover talent, and a harbinger of the cutting edge. Its singularity and willingness to take chances on new names gave it power to demand exclusives and a certain — perhaps inflated — sense of its own importance.

The Madison Avenue location, though, is now the immediate cause of retailer’s troubles. Barneys does not own its real estate, unlike some retailers. (Saks, for example, owns many of its stores, including its famous Fifth Avenue location.) Last August, an arbiter ruled that the annual rent at the Madison Avenue store could be raised to $30 million from $16 million.

That ruling, combined with a slowdown in foot traffic and rent increases at other stores, put enormous pressure on the company. Madison Avenue accounted for a third of the company’s revenue, and at its height brought in $300 million a year in sales. For the last year and a half, however, sales have been falling.

For months, Barneys has been in talks with potential partners who could inject fresh capital into its coffers. But many of them wanted to be protected in case Barneys failed, making it difficult for the retailer to secure the capital before filing for Chapter 11, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the talks were private.

Barneys plans to use the financing to pay its financial commitments, and acknowledged that it might have to go to a “cash on delivery” relationship with brands. Vendors and designers had become increasingly anxious as Barneys’ troubles began to be reported, and some started withholding orders from the stores because they feared not being paid. They said a lack of communication from store management about what Barneys was planning to do contributed to the situation.