Susanne Bartsch
Susanne Bartsch | |
|---|---|
Bartsch in 2023 | |
| Born | Susanne Hedwig Bärtsch September 19, 1951 Bern, Switzerland |
| Occupation | Event producer |
| Spouse |
David Barton
(m. 1995; sep. 2010) |
| Children | 1 |
Susanne Bartsch (née Susanne Hedwig Bärtsch; born 19 September 1951[1]) is a Swiss event producer primarily active in New York City.[2]
Her monthly parties at the Copacabana in late-1980s New York City united the haute and demi-monde and made her an icon of New York nightlife. "Ms. Bartsch's name is the night life equivalent of a couture label," according to The New York Times, "thanks to the numerous extravaganzas she staged in cities from Montreal to Miami."[3]
Life and career
Born in Bern, Switzerland, as the youngest of three children of Mina (born Enz) and Werner Alfred Bärtsch, a cabinetmaker, Bartsch left her family at 17 and moved to London.[4] In the late 1960s she became an intimate of such celebrities as Jimmy Page and Malcolm McLaren. Moving to New York City for love in the early 1980s, she lived in the Chelsea Hotel and opened a clothing boutique in SoHo that gave exposure to new British names, designers and labels, including Vivienne Westwood, Leigh Bowery, BodyMap, John Galliano, and milliner Stephen Jones.[5] She also helped launch the careers of young American designers Alpana Bawa[6] and Michael Leva[7], and was a precursor and influence upon the Club Kids movement of the time.
By the late 1980s, the American economy was slowing, and "edgy" clothing was becoming harder to sell; Bartsch began organizing weekly parties at prominent New York nightclubs, such as Savage, Bentley's, and, finally, the Copacabana.
It was the time of AIDS and Bartsch was losing her friends to the epidemic. To raise awareness and money, she organised the first big AIDS charity ball, the Love Ball, in 1989, which raised US $400,000 (approx. $994k in 2024) to help fight HIV and AIDS.[8] For the first time, elements of Harlem ball culture were introduced to a national audience. Bartsch took part in other philanthropic work, like running annual holiday toy-drives with her partner, David Barton.
In 2015, The Museum at FIT mounted an exhibit celebrating Bartsch's costumes.[9] In May 2025, Susanne Bartsch made a return to Switzerland with her exhibition “Transformation!” at Zürich's Museum für Gestaltung. The retrospective presents over 35 of her extravagant fashion looks and coincides with the launch of the Zurich Pride Festival, marking her cultural influence and ongoing creative journey.[10]
Private Life
Bartsch has a son, Bailey Bartsch Barton (born 1993), with her partner, bodybuilder and gym owner David Barton, whom she married in 1995 and divorced in 2010.[11]
Filmography
- Susanne Bartsch: On Top (2017)
- RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2019 & 2025; Season 4 & Season 10), Guest judge
References
- ^ Birth Notice (Neue Berner Zeitung 26 September 1951)
- ^ Die New Yorker Nachtclubikone aus Bern | Folge 1 - Kulturplatz – Swiss Success Stories - Play SRF. Retrieved 19 November 2025 – via www.srf.ch.
- ^ Galtney, Smith (28 April 2002). "A Night Out With: Susanne Bartsch; The Celebutantes Return". The New York Times.
- ^ Conzett, Anja (12 September 2018). "Die Salondame". Republik (in German).
- ^ "BodyMap – Shaping the 1980s / Personalities / People / V&A Channel". Vam.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
- ^ Roberts, Nina. "How A Niche Fashion Designer Has Maintained Entrepreneurial Longevity". Forbes. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
- ^ "Michael Leva, Who Found Fashion Fame Early, Is Dead at 62 (Published 2023)". 20 September 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
- ^ HOCHSWENDER, Woody (12 May 1989). "Vogueing Against AIDS: A Quest for 'Overness'". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
- ^ "Fashion Underground: The World of Susanne Bartsch". Msfabulous.com. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ^ https://www.morningstar.com/news/globe-newswire/9457496/susanne-bartsch-brings-new-exhibition-transformation-to-switzerland
- ^ Murphy, Tim (27 April 2011). "The Man Who Made Working Out Cool". The New York Times.