What will the Upper East Side be Without Barney’s?

You don’t have to be front row at Fashion Week or sporting the latest Fendi collection to know about Barney’s. For some New Yorkers, it’s a view in their everyday commute down Madison Avenue. The department store is famous for housing designers such as Prada, Gucci, the Row and Dries Van Noten. Barney’s has been a common household name for years due to its appearance in shows such as Sex and the City and Seinfeld as well as it being name dropped in plenty of songs written by the likes of Drake and New York native, A$AP Rocky. Unfortunately, after almost 100 years of being a key part of the industry, Barney’s filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The major takeover consisting of online e-commerce and retailers such as Amazon have made it harder for businesses and department stores to stay afloat in the 21^st century. On August 6^th, 2019 almost every major media outlet was posting how Barney’s would be closing 15 of their 22 stores.

After the announcement of 15 stores closing, Barneys warehouses were bombarded with customers looking for great liquidation sales, but as of October 24^th, 2019 Barney’s is in talks to be bought out by Authentic Brands, a company planning to put Barney’s name under Saks Fifth Avenue. This relicensing would result in the closing of all Barney’s locations. Many household names in fashion, such as the co-founder of Kith, Mr. Ben-Avraham, tried to create a bid large enough to keep the company alive but it fell through due to insurance reasons.

Although it’s unclear what Authentic Brands and Saks Fifth Avenue will do with the iconic name that is Barney’s, the department store launched a new campaign before the doors close for good sporting “Barney’s till I’m Dead!” t-shirts. Barney’s closing may be the end of an era, but the amazing department store will live on as an iconic part of New York City forever through our beloved memories, the many lyrical references in songs and of course, through references on Sex and the City. Barney’s till I’m Dead!