Susanne Bartsch: the icon of New York's nightlife

At the young age of 17 she left her native land of Switzerland to discover other horizons. After initially making her mark in London, she continued to promote her lifestyle and fashion sense in the US. There she succeeded in transmitting her love for English designers and got New York to Dress up. In the mid-1980s, she began organizing huge events where all that mattered was originality and mode. The philosophy was beyond refreshing, no matter where you came from or what you did, only your style mattered. She embraced everyone's presence and created a space for unreserved expression, making her a mainstay of LGBTQ+ rights at the time.

What she did was much more than hosting parties, she really took part and facilitated underground cultural movements. Some of the visions depicted in her events made it straight into mainstream pop culture: she has left a true mark and thus, generation upon generation. She brought young artist forward, plus addressed real social challenges of the time. Especially during the aid crisis, by de-stigmatizing the sick as well as raising huge sums of money and raising awareness through specific events.

She continues to be a success, from her work featured at Art Basel to more recently receiving a Culture Award at the Swiss Design Awards. The artist has been a force for change for most of her life and has now attained legendary status.

Overall, it would be reductive to characterize Bartsch as a simple event organiser. She is a performer, benefactor, and a true culture incubator. Be it from her introducing the biggest names in fashion or music to her truly operating asocial change at a time where New York needed a dazzling ambassador of self-expression and integration.

To find out more about her, a watch of her movie Susanne Bartsch: on the top is highly recommended!

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