SUSANNE BARTSCH, STILL ON TOP

Alex Blynn
1 day ago
3 min read

Captured in Her Usual Workspace Inside The Standard Hotel, High Line in Manhattan, the Queen of Nightlife Shows Us the Meaning of Girlboss as Our April 2026 Digital Cover

Taken from VALŪS Issue 003 Spring 2026 glossy print edition - pre-order your copies today!

Story by Alex Blynn

Susanne Bartsch has been a nightlife stalwart and innovator for decades. Her parties are legendary and a rite of passage for any burgeoning New York personality in search of recognition and a fun evening. She’s hosted dozens of parties through the years, from clubs like the Copacabana to the iconic Palladium, with her weekly NYC party, Bartschland’s On Top at Le Bain & Boom Boom Room in the Standard Hotel, now going strong for more than 15 years straight. This same On Top concept Bartsch also regularly takes on the road to host parties in hot spots like Aspen, LA, Raleigh, Toronto, and more. With too many projects and ongoing parties and books and documentaries and sold-out events to count (including the much-loved yearly Bartschland Toy Drive for the Holidays as well as her historic Love Ball for AIDS awareness), Bartsch is the epitome of a Girlboss. So to say that Susanne is an inspiration to nearly every famous and non-famous performer and clubkid out there could be an understatement. But staying on top has forever been a welcome challenge to Susanne.

“The pandemic really took business away from us,” Susanne remembers while on a call with VALŪS. “But then in 2022 we had our strongest year ever. And things have changed since then, too. So much of people’s lives are now online, socially. But the one thing you can't do online, and it’s something that is still really necessary, is dancing. If you want to dance, you have to go out, to feel really like you, to feel that energy, the beat of the music, with everybody united in the same sounds but moving differently. It's absolutely magical. That has not been replaced.”

She realizes how much things have changed. “Now young people seem to go out less, they definitely drink less. We all notice that in the industry. We all used to make fun of the bridge and tunnel people, now the bridge, meaning Brooklyn, can be cooler than Manhattan, and tons of people live through the tunnel, meaning New Jersey. Interesting how much things have changed. But we must always move with the times. All my years are golden years because I make them so!”

But some things don’t change, namely what makes a good party. “Good music, a good DJ, a good room, and good people,” Bartsch explains. “If people come to listen to the music, to dance, and to turn looks, it will be a fun night.”

For now, Bartsch is putting extra focus on bringing her exhibition “Transformation!” from its original location at the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich in Switzerland (Bartsch's home country) to the States. A look back at Bartsch’s achievements as well as an artistic walkthrough of the nightlife queen’s pre-party glam routine, the exhibition was a smash with the Swiss, and will undoubtedly be a similar triumph with the Americans. We hope to see it soon!