September 18-December 5
Special Exhibitions Gallery, The Museum at FIT
Susanne Bartsch has been a highly visible player in New York City nightlife from the 1980s to the present. Her penchant for extreme fashion and makeup made her name the equivalent of a couture label for party people around the world. Born in Switzerland, she came to New York via London in 1981 and opened an influential boutique in Soho, featuring the work of young, cutting-edge English designers and milliners, such as John Galliano, Stephen Jones, and Leigh Bowery. In 1986, Bartsch organized her first party at Savage, a club below the Chelsea Hotel. Moving to larger clubs later on, her parties became known for their mix of uptown and downtown, gay and straight, high fashion, street style, and Mardi Gras–like extravagance.
Fashion Underground: The World of Susanne Bartsch will explore the creative links between her 30 years of sartorial self-expression and its influence on the global fashion scene. As Holly Brubach wrote in her 1991 New Yorker profile, “If there is a theme that runs through the various jobs Bartsch has held, it is perhaps a fascination with the way people present themselves—with clothes and the part they play in people’s imagination.” For more information, click here.