Susanne Bartsch makes emotional return to Switzerland for transformation! Exhibition (exclusive)

In New York City, Susanne Bartsch is the royalty of the nightlife. An icon for Maverick style to unite people at her legendary parties. At the height of its transformation forces, Bartsch can seem almost second worldly, with a great presence in combination with her Outland fashion. But at the opening Conversion!her wild new exhibition at Design Museum In Zurich, Switzerland, Bartsch, who was born in the country, know down to earth despite its metal blue ensemble and one-of-a-Kind wig.

“Before I say anything else, someone got some toilet paper because I will cry,” Bartsch, 74, told a loving amount of admirers on June 19 after they got a first look at her fantastic career retrospective, and showed over 35 of her most iconic appearance. Bartsch grew visible and took in his audience and smiled through his tears. “I’m very moved,” she continued. “It’s really fun to see my work being intellectualized. It’s a bit incredible.”

As the museum describes, Conversion! “Takes the audience on a club night and shows how transformative work with outfit, appearance and space can be.” Its opening, as followed by an exclusive after -party at Klusklubb In Zurich’s popular Langstrasse Nightlife District happened to coincide with Kickoff to Zurich Pride Festival 2025A multi -day LGBTQ+ event that attracts thousands to the Swiss city every year. The festivities ended on Saturday, June 21 with a parade through the center of Zurich and a free outdoor music festival containing popular Eurovision documents, such as Spain Melody And Malta star Miriana Conte.

In an exclusive interview with People, which was conducted while Bartsch put the finishing to his show, the event producer and the artist open up about what the exhibition means to her, her thoughts on how Nyc Nightlife has developed over the decades, her meaningful friendship with RUPA And so much more.

People: How has this experience been by going through your archives for this exhibition? Is it emotionally to visit your inheritance?

Susanne Bartsch: I mean, the hardest thing was what not To include because there are so many looks. It’s like “What do I include? What don’t I include?” It’s not so much when you get the look together to decide to put in the exhibition, that’s when you actually see them on the mannequin. It is emotionally because you suddenly see this thing hanging in the closet, or that was in a box somewhere, or under my Chinese bed. Suddenly, it feels like you remember everything that happened within this outfit. It comes alive.

Is it particularly meaningful to launch this exhibition in your home country? Have you returned to your roots considering you a different perspective on everything you have achieved?

Yes, it really has. It’s like coming home, a little. I’ve done this all my life. I left Switzerland to find myself, and it has nothing to do with Switzerland – I would have left home wherever I lived because I knew it was more for life than I knew, and I wanted to experience different cultures and learn and grow. So after leaving to become me, it is a fantastic gift to come back and be celebrated by why I left in a way.

I have become what I am by leaving and experiencing and learning and finding my creativity and who I am, what I want to do and come back here. In a way, it is rewarded in a way for leaving, it is really moving. It is a very beautiful, special thing for me.

Would you describe this show as a retrospective of your career or a current encapsulation of where you today in your creative journey?

It is one looking forward to. It’s a lot about right now, this is what I do. It’s not similar, “Oh, I wore this 10, 20 years ago.” It’s a lot in the moment. Some of my clothes are from the eighties, but many of them are also from right now. So it’s not so much, “Oh, this is … Okay, here we are. The big final.” About something, “more in the future.” Safe.

You were brilliant as a guest judge on the current season of Rupaul’s Drag Race: All Stars. Did you have fun?

Yes, it was fantastic. I really liked. Queens was so amazing. It was really fun and so glamorous. They made me look so good. I’m like “oh!” And people come to me, say, “oh my god, you looked so good at Drawllike, lighting and everything. “Rupaul is a very dear friend for me, and the whole family he created.

With you as vice president?

Oh, please, yes, I apply. I apply. And you can be the secretary of state. Oh my gosh.

When Susanne Bartsch packs for a trip to Zurich, how many luggage pieces does she bring? I guess you have sent items.

We had to send. Most of it was sent, but I had only two bags myself. We had six bags in total. But for my own things there were only two bags. I mean, you know what’s really fun? I don’t really make ball clothes that much. There are more corsets – I love corsets, I love being cinched – so the clothes are never so big. If something can be delicate. I have a bronze look for this opening, and it’s pretty fragile, so you have to pack a certain way. It takes place. But what really takes place? It’s the shoes. The shoes and hair, fun enough. It is more dramatic to travel with than the actual feature, the actual appearance.

What do you think about the current nightlife scene in New York and how it develops since you came to the stage?

I think it clearly changed tremendously because there are social media. People live their lives on social media, on “the square.” Rupaul calls it “the square.” The phone, the TV, the computer. So you don’t have to go out anymore. We used to go out to meet someone. Now you can do everything in the square, you can get food, you can shop, you don’t have to go anywhere. And it is definitely a little influencing nightlife a bit.

Forget the nightlife, it’s actually New York. The restaurants now close at 10 o’clock. You go to a restaurant at 9:30, “Sorry, we’re closed.” I think it’s fantastic. In Chelsea – I live in Chelsea – nothing is open after 10 o’clock, which I know. So I think, except the nightlife, it’s just New York together. It’s very … I don’t know, I don’t think it’s the city 24 hours anymore.

We lose type of contacts, because we do not have places to gather. The nightclub is a dance floor experience. Nothing is better than a dance floor experience because it really puts you into the moment. It is a place that people still put down the phone, and they are together in the track. They move to the music, different ways to move, but they all move at the same rate. And for me it is almost like a spiritual experience. It is very special. The dance floor is really Mecca for me now because this is where creativity, fashion and music gather at the same time. Moves to the same rate.

What is your secret to remaining an innovator in your area?

To be honest, I get inspired. For me, I love what I do. I love to see people together and have fun, flirt with each other. I feel like I’m doing something good. To give love, give a platform for people to feel safe and give people the opportunity to be what they want to be. And that’s kind of what I’m about. When I have an event, it’s really high for me. So I guess I’m an addict. I want it high, so I continue. I don’t release that ball.