Susanne Bartsch Presents Adrienne Landau's LandauLand

Have you ever considered fur coats stuffy and boring? Shame on you. Iconic fur label Adrienne Landau turned the idea of a fur salon presentation on its head by collaborating with nightlife legend Susanne Bartsch for her Fall 2017 show at NY Fashion Week.

Instead of a standard runway or stationary pedestals, the models gyrated and seduced the guests in an interactive nightclub tableaus. You first approached a sapphic bridal couple on a horse dressed in a tux and white fur wedding ensemble. Next was a surreal vignette with legendary club figure and trans celebutante Amanda Lepore vamping it up as a disturbing Mommie Dearest. Her little fur-clad kids were chic as hell.

Another scene was a giant banana beach, a disco dance floor, a vintage telephone booth and then an entire gallery of performers behind glass flaunting colored fur and elaborate headdresses inspired by South American tribal cultures (see below). Super curvy burlesque Diva, Dirty Martini sprawled across the floor while a bored androgynous model looked on.

Producing a large range of accessories and coats in wild colors was a great way reinvent the fur fashion market. Having a range of body shapes, genders, ages showed the diversity of the customer. Pairing fur stoles with lingerie showed how sexy fur could be.

This Adrienne Landau/Susanne Bartsch presentation was so much fun. It brought me back to my club kid years when I first landed in New York City. If my budget allowed it, I would hit the town tonight in every color of this furry rainbow.

All photos by Mariana Leung

Also on Ms. Fabulous:

Fashion Underground: The World of Susanne Bartsch

Bryan Boy's Furry Tale 

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Fashion Underground: The World of Susanne Bartsch

I'm aging myself; Everyone says nightlife in NYC was better back in the day. The Fashion Underground: World of Susanne Bartsch is the current exhibition at the Museum at FIT that proves it was true.

When I first came to NYC in the 1990s, it was the tail end of the rave era. Underground parties were extreme events where you were expected to wear the most creative designer outfit imaginable. As a young fashion design student, this was a challenge to be met every night you stepped out.

photos by Mariana Leung

The Queen of the clubs was Susanne Bartsch. 

Sure, you had lots of drag queens on the scene, but she was a glamorous icon for the club set. She brought London chic to Gotham. The Museum at FIT is paying tribute to the socialite's best looks. They included Haute Couture creations from designers like Rick Owens, Alexander McQueen, Thierry Mugler, The Blonds and Jean-Paul Gaultier, helping to propel their names to fame. Her patronage of wearable art also helped define up-and-coming creatives like Zaldy and Leigh Bowery to prominence.

Bartsch spoke at a symposium last week about her journey from Switzerland to London to NYC. She is still inspired by the artists and designers breaking out today. Other speakers like Hamish Bowles, Simon Doonan and Joey Arias told their tales of how she influenced everything from magazines, retail stores, gay culture and modern nightlife.

People make enjoy the minimalism of skinny jeans and a skanky top for a night out today. My old soul will always yearn for the glamour of an epic rave in a Gothic church or a corseted runway in an old train tunnel. Clubbing to me was a ride down a three-story slide wearing a spiral velvet bra and giant fur coat.

Susanne Bartsch is still throwing parties. To catch her exhibit,  you need to head to the Museum at FIT before December 5, 2015.

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