Susanne Bartsch Puts Her Legendary Parties in Print With a New Book

In a city known for its unforgettable parties, Susanne Bartsch has the kind of staying power most nightlife impresarios can only dream of. A new book from the city’s eternal master of after-hours ceremonies, Bartschland: Tales of New York City Nightlife charts Bartsch’s incredible journey since the late 1980s, when she began creating diverse wonderlands of opulence and acceptance for each new generation of club kids.

Featuring candid photos from Bartsch’s personal archive and priceless anecdotes from her life, the book is both a time capsule for the past few decades of New York City’s queer club culture and an inspiration for what life outside the normal bounds of 9-to-5 society can look like. Bartsch’s friends—like Aquaria, Joey Arias, and Amanda Lepore—and global stars like Madonna, Jean Paul Gaultier, Thierry Mugler, and Giorgio Armani all make appearances in Bartschland’s pages, as do the sex workers, artists, ballroom dancers, and drag queens who are the raw spark of culture at the center of Bartsch’s scene. From her famous, star-studded Love Balls to the early Copacabana extravaganzas that united the high and low of New York society to her present-day recurring parties like On Top (at the Standard), Bartsch’s events have always been a melting pot of music, fashion, and philanthropy.

In 2015, the Museum at FIT mounted an exhibition of Bartsch’s costumes; Bartschland details the making of many of these looks, as well as her early championing of designers like Vivienne Westwood and John Galliano. A foreword by Bartsch’s close friend, RuPaul, recalls their early days working together as performers in New York. In later passages, Bartsch reflects on deeper themes like motherhood, the impact of the AIDS crisis, and the transformative beauty of pairing radical inclusivity with glittering glamour. Take a peek at Bartschland, out now via Abrams Books, below.