Susanne Bartsch (born 1962) is a Swiss event producer living in the United States whose monthly parties at the Copacabana in the late 1980s united the ''haute'' and ''demi-monde'', and made her an icon of New York nightlife. "Ms. Bartsch's name," according to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', is "the night life equivalent of a couture label, thanks to the numerous extravaganzas she staged in cities from Montreal to Miami."

Life and career

Born in Switzerland, Bartsch left her family in 1979 at the age of 17 and moved to London, where she became an intimate of such celebrities as

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...

and

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English impresario, visual artist, singer, songwriter, musician, clothes designer and boutique owner, notable for combining these activities in an inventive and provoc ...

. After moving to New York City in 1981, she opened a clothing boutique in

SoHo Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

that gave exposure to new British designers and labels, including

Vivienne Westwood Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood (née Swire; born 8 April 1941) is an English fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. Westwood came to public notice when she m ...

, Leigh Bowery,

BodyMap BodyMap (also sometimes written as Bodymap or Body Map) was an influential British fashion label of the 1980s, renowned for its layered and innovatively structured shapes, distinctive prints and groundbreaking fashion shows. During the post-Punk ...

John Galliano John Charles Galliano (born 28 November 1960) is a British fashion designer from Gibraltar. He was the creative director of his eponymous label John Galliano and French fashion houses Givenchy and Dior. Since 2014, Galliano has been the creat ...

, and milliner Stephen Jones. She also helped launch the careers of young American designers Alpana Bawa and Michael Leva, and was a precursor and influence upon the Club Kids. By the late 1980s, the 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. Bartsch created the Love Ball in 1989, which raised $400,000 to fight

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

. For the first time, elements of

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

ball culture were introduced to a national audience. Bartsch took part in philanthropic work, running annual holiday toy drives along with her partner David Barton, whom she married in 1995. The couple had a son Bailey Bartsch Barton, and separated in late 2010. In 2015,

The Museum at FIT The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college in New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) and focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. I ...

mounted an exhibit celebrating Bartsch's costumes.

Filmography

* ''Susanne Bartsch: On Top'' (2017) * '' RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars'' (2019;

season 4 Season 4 may refer to: * "Season 4" (''30 Rock'' episode), an episode of ''30 Rock'' See also * * Season One (disambiguation) Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughte ...

, Guest judge)

References

External links

"Susanne Bartsch & Dr. Valerie Steele in Conversation"
from Archive on Demand
Article 2018
(German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bartsch, Susanne 1950s births Living people American socialites Swiss emigrants to the United States Swiss expatriates in England Year of birth missing (living people)