Well, I should have listened to Susanne. She told me to come early to the opening of her Fashion Underground exhibit at FIT, but my date was held up in traffic and we arrived late with the usual organized crush outside. The Museum at FIT is glassed it, so, who do I see through the front window but Dianne Brill (the OTHER legendary Queen of the Night) talking to who…? RUPAUL! I had to grab THAT picture, kids! So, I squeezed my way in and who else is standing right there? None other than Mr. World of Wonder, Randy Barbato (sans the other Mr. Wonder, Fenton Bailey, who was in town too, but under the weather) OMG! Then the night was off! EVERYBODY came out to see this AMAZING exhibit. You know, I started right in the middle of this thing… maybe you need a little backstory…?
Vogue Australia: Susanne Bartsch: Queen of the Night
Sitting in Susanne Bartsch’s apartment in the Chelsea Hotel, long a Manhattan home for artists, but now fraying at the seams, it is hard to believe that New York's “Queen of Night Life” is not acting a role ...
InStyle: Susanne Bartsch Unveils Fashion Underground Exhibition at FIT
Nightlife mainstay Susanne Bartsch, known for her legendary parties at Copacabana and Savage in the 1980s and The Top of The Standard today, likes to think of herself as a “people person.” “I like bringing people together,” she says before the opening of her new exhibition, Fashion Underground: The World of Susanne Bartsch, which opens today at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology. “I like evoking emotion in people.”
New York Times: Evening Hour
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Observer: FIT’s Underground Fashion Reveals the World of Susanne Bartsch
“Fashion Underground: The World of Susanne Bartsch,” which debuts today at the Museum at FIT in Midtown Manhattan, focuses not on a designer or thematic fashion idea, but on a woman who embodies the idea of the fashion muse. Curated by Valerie Steele, the exhibition takes viewers on a whirlwind tour of Susanne Bartsch’s 30-year career as a fashion renegade, avant-garde boutique owner and spectacular party-thrower. These extravagant parties, filled with gyrating bodies in outlandish clothes, were nightly spectacles of performance art. Hosted at various venues, such as Savage, Copacabana and Le Bain, the parties attracted the fringes of the fashion world—“the people who are obsessed with fashion who might not be professionals,” said Ms. Steele ...
Village Voice: Fashion Exhibit Draws Celebs, Club Kids to FIT, Gramercy Theater
Susanne Bartsch and her crew of club kids celebrated her exhibit, "Fashion Underground: The World of Susanne Bartsch" at FIT. Hundreds of her nightclub outfits are on display in a recreated nightclub within the space. Calvin Klein, Rupaul, Amanda Lepore, Bill Cunningham, and many others stopped in to see the show. The celebration migrated to Gramercy Theatre for Bartsch's KUNST party with music by DJs Amber Valentine, Juliana Huxtable, Exquisite, and the Carry Nation.
Paper Mag: Scenes from the Opening for Fashion Underground: The World of Susanne Bartsch at the Museum at FIT
Last night was the opening of Fashion Underground: The World of Susanne Bartsch at the Museum of FIT, an exhibit dedicated to the fabulous, glitter-flecked fashion worn by legendary nightlife doyenne, Susanne Bartsch, and her friends. Designs in the show come from Leigh Bowery, John Galliano,The Blonds, Stephen Jones, Jean Paul Gaultier, Pam Hogg, Alexander McQueen, Thierry Mugler (who can forget the egg-shaped wedding dress he designer for her 1995 nuptials to David Barton?!), Rick Owens, Vivienne Westwood, Zaldy and Rachel Auburn. After the opening, Bartsch did what she does best -- throw a killer party -- and this time it was an iteration of her roving bash, Kunst, at the Gramercy Theater. As always, it was a feast for the eyes. Take a look at photos from the opening by Rebecca Smeyne, below.
Fashion Times: 'Fashion Underground: The World of Susanne Bartsch' Opens At Museum At FIT [Interview]
Walk into the latest exhibit at the Museum at FIT and you'll be greeted by a mannequin holding a guest-list stationed behind a red velvet rope in front of a graffiti-covered wall. It sets the tone for an exhibition about one of the leading doyennes of New York nightlife, Susanne Bartsch ...
Yahoo Style: Outrageous Looks, RuPaul & Lactating Performers: Inside The World Of NY Nightlife Queen Susanne Bartsch →
Susanne Bartsch has been New York’s regnant Queen of the Night since moving here in the early 1980s. The mastermind of some of the city’s most legendary club nights, Bartsch is an original whose alterna high fashion meets Halloween and drag looks elevate dressing up into an art form. Fashion Underground: The World of Susanne Bartsch, a new exhibition at the Museum at FIT in New York curated by Bartsch and FIT’s Valerie Steele, sheds light on her enduring influence. Yahoo Style caught up with the scene queen before the exhibition’s opening night ...
Vogue UK: Susanne Bartsch: Queen of the Night
SITTING in Susanne Bartsch's apartment in the Chelsea Hotel, long a Manhattan home for artists, but now fraying at the seams, it is hard to believe that New York's "Queen of Night Life" is not acting a role.
The swirling paintings, the pink stars behind the hat stand, the gilded candles and the carved four poster bed on which a sparkly corset is laid out, could easily be a set from the exhibition that opens at the Museum at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) today: "Fashion Underground: the World of Susanne Bartsch" ...
Visionaire: Susanne Bartsch's World
The name Susanne Bartsch is synonymous with New York City nightlife. Her parties are the stuff of legend – the type people lie about having been at, just to wear that badge of merit on their (likely bedazzled) extravagant outfit – that is no doubt topped off with eye makeup of the glitter variety. And no great party is complete without a great party look, something Bartsch has not skimped on over the years. The Museum at FIT is celebrating Bartsch’s lavish closet with an exhibit featuring 80 looks the inimitable host has donned ...
Paper Mag: Scenes from the Opening for Fashion Underground: The World of Susanne Bartsch at the Museum at FIT
Last night was the opening of Fashion Underground: The World of Susanne Bartsch at the Museum of FIT, an exhibit dedicated to the fabulous, glitter-flecked fashion worn by legendary nightlife doyenne, Susanne Bartsch, and her friends. Designs in the show come from Leigh Bowery, John Galliano,The Blonds, Stephen Jones, Jean Paul Gaultier, Pam Hogg, Alexander McQueen, Thierry Mugler (who can forget the egg-shaped wedding dress he designer for her 1995 nuptials to David Barton?!), Rick Owens, Vivienne Westwood, Zaldy and Rachel Auburn. After the opening, Bartsch did what she does best -- throw a killer party -- and this time it was an iteration of her roving bash, Kunst, at the Gramercy Theater. As always, it was a feast for the eyes. Take a look at photos from the opening by Rebecca Smeyne, below ...
Racked: Susanne Bartsch's FIT Exhibit Cures Fashion Boredom with Sex, Corsets, and Sparkles
What just arrived at the Museum at FIT looks nothing like what's on the runways right now. Tomorrow, the fashion college will open its doors to Fashion Underground: The World of Susanne Bartsch, an exhibit dedicated to the nightlife queen's best fashion moments and the impact she's had on the industry. And if you're bored of the casual vibes that are owning the fashion scene as of late — from flat shoes and low heels to sweeping pants in neutral colors — consider this your antidote ...
New York Times: Fashion Night Parties: Night 8
Photo Gallery
Capping off another New York Fashion Week, Susanne Bartsch (right) celebrated her show “Fashion Underground: The World of Susanne Bartsch” at the Museum at F.I.T. on Thursday night. Among those paying tribute were Norma Kamali and Calvin Klein (center). “She was a fixture on the party circuit,” Mr. Klein said. “For a few moments, we were all out.”
Vogue: Queen of the Night: Inside Susanne Bartsch’s Larger-Than-Life New Retrospective
Entering “Fashion Underground,” Susanne Bartsch’s Museum at FIT retrospective, is not unlike entering one of her famed parties. Visitors are greeted by a lineup of mannequin partygoers dressed to impress the “doorman” (equipped with an RSVP list) in a graffiti- and flier-laden alley—complete with an aluminum trash can. “It’s so New York, I should have had a rat run around somewhere, too,” says Bartsch ...
Women's Wear Daily: Susanne Bartsch’s Fashion Underground Exhibition Bows at the Museum at FIT
“Once it’s 3 o’clock, I start to get nervous.”
By her own accord, that’s the bewitching hour for Susanne Bartsch, who will help The Museum at FIT unveil “Fashion Underground: The World of Susanne Bartsch” tonight. After the festivities, Bartsch, aka “Queen of the Night,” will do what she does best – host her Kunst party at the Gramercy Theater to celebrate her birthday and the exhibition opening. Tilda Swinton, Marc Jacobs, Rick Owens and Calvin Klein are among those expected at the opening, which Bartsch hopes will lead to a traveling exhibition ...
Travel & Leisure: Susanne Bartsch Exhibit Celebrates Designer’s Nightlife Influence
A native of Switzerland, Susanne Bartsch moved to London in her teens and developed a taste for English fashion. In 1981, she set out to conquer the New York demimonde, taking up rooms at the Chelsea Hotel and opening a boutique in Soho. Bartsch was one of the first New York retailers to carry Vivienne Westwood ...
Refinery 29: Getting Ready With New York's Most Iconic Nightlife Legend
Today, less than 50 residents still call the building home — one of which is Susanne Bartsch, a woman who we'd dare to describe as the reigning queen of New York nightlife. She moved to the city from London for a love affair. Instead, she ended up discovering her true love: bringing people together. In the '80s, she helped put designers like Vivienne Westwood and John Galliano on the map in America, importing their pieces and selling them to the coolest ladies about town. When the doors to her clothing store closed, Bartsch began throwing parties at the then-hot spot Savage; followed by extravaganzas filled with wild, over-the-top costumes and drag entertainment at the Copacabana that became the thing ...
Marie Claire Taiwan: 紐約展覽最前線：八〇派對女王 Susanne Bartsch
當年，無論何時何地，只要派對由她主辦，巨星名流保證蜂擁而至，而 Bartsch 與好友所引領的「地下時尚」風貌，則建構起紐約最吸睛的一代時尚奇景；她不但是首位將 Vivienne Westwood 引進紐約的零售商，也曾親身擘劃多場時尚大秀 ...
Elle France: Susanne Bartsch : l’icône des années 80 s'expose
A New York, une exposition célèbre Susanne Bartsch, icône déjantée des nuits new-yorkaises des années 80. Portrait ...