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'''John Sutcliffe''' (died 1987) was a British [[Fetish fashion|fetish clothing]] designer and publisher of the [[fetish magazine]] ''[[AtomAge]]''.<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/sep/11/john-sutcliffe-fetish-wear</ref>
'''John Sutcliffe''' (died 1987) was a British [[Fetish fashion|fetish clothing]] designer and publisher of the [[fetish magazine]] ''[[AtomAge]]''.<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/sep/11/john-sutcliffe-fetish-wear</ref>


In the 1950s he was divorced because his feelings about leather had led to him being diagnosed as mentally ill and treatment failed to change him.<ref>https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/21774/1/john-sutcliffe-rubber-johnny</ref><ref name="guardian"/>
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He created a sewing needle for [[Polyvinyl chloride|vinyl]] that improved the ability to stitch and work that material, and a method for attaching a [[muslin]]-type fabric to [[latex]], which after that could be securely sewn.<ref>https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/21774/1/john-sutcliffe-rubber-johnny</ref> He also created a sewing machine specifically for leather and asked [[Singer Corporation|Singer]] to manufacture it, but as remembered by his friend Robert Henley, "Singer were so horrified, they called the police."<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/sep/11/john-sutcliffe-fetish-wear</ref>


⚫
He began his AtomAge fetish clothing business in 1957, registering it as a “manufacturer of weatherproofs for lady [[pillion]] riders”.<ref>https://www.wmagazine.com/story/dressing-for-pleasure-book-john-sutcliffe</ref><ref>https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/21774/1/john-sutcliffe-rubber-johnny</ref>
At some point Sutcliffe was diagnosed as mentally ill because of his feelings about leather, which resulted in him having a nervous breakdown and a divorce, and quitting his engineering job.<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/sep/11/john-sutcliffe-fetish-wear</ref>


He was an influence on the leather catsuits worn by [[Emma Peel]] in ''[[The Avengers|The Avengers]]'', and created the leather catsuit worn by [[Marianne Faithfull]] in the 1968 film ''[[The Girl on a Motorcycle]]''.<ref name="guardian">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/sep/11/john-sutcliffe-fetish-wear|title=King of kinky|website=[[TheGuardian.com]]|date=10 September 2010}}</ref>
⚫
He began his AtomAge fetish clothing business in 1957, registering it as a “manufacturer of weatherproofs for lady [[pillion]] riders”.<ref>https://www.wmagazine.com/story/dressing-for-pleasure-book-john-sutcliffe</ref>

It is a popular misconception that he designed the leather outfits for ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]''. He did not.<ref name="guardian">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/sep/11/john-sutcliffe-fetish-wear|title=King of kinky|website=[[TheGuardian.com]]|date=10 September 2010}}</ref> They were designed by [[Michael Whittaker (costume designer)|Michael Whittaker]] for [[Honor Blackman]] and by [[John Bates (fashion designer)|John Bates]] for [[Diana Rigg]], although they may have been made in Sutcliffe's workshop. He did design some costumes for the stage version of ''The Avengers'' which appeared later. He also designed the leather catsuit worn by [[Marianne Faithfull]] in the 1968 film ''[[The Girl on a Motorcycle]]'' which may have been influenced by the style of ''The Avengers''.<ref name="guardian" />


Sutcliffe published ''[[AtomAge]]'' magazine (later ''AtomAge International'' magazine), a [[fetish magazine]] published as an offshoot of his AtomAge fetish clothing business. The magazine has been called the "underground bible of leather, rubber and vinyl fetish wear throughout the 1970s"<ref name="trunk">{{Cite book |last=Trunk |first=Jonny |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7AjtRQAACAAJ |title=Dressing for Pleasure in Rubber, Vinyl & Leather: The Best of AtomAge, 1972-1980 |date=2010 |publisher=FUEL |isbn=978-0-9563562-3-9 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="kwaidan">{{Cite magazine |last=Phelps |first=Nicole |date=2021-03-03 |title=Kwaidan Editions Fall 2021 Ready-to-Wear Collection |url=https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2021-ready-to-wear/kwaidan-editions |magazine=Vogue |language=en-US |access-date=2021-12-07}}</ref> and documented Britain's S&M scene.<ref name="quinn">{{Cite news |last=Moreland |first=Quinn |date=2017-12-15 |title=Fever Ray Explains How Ball Gags, Leather Fetishes, and Weird Memes Inspired Her New Album |language=en |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/interview/fever-ray-explains-how-ball-gags-leather-fetishes-and-weird-memes-inspired-her-new-album/ |access-date=2021-12-07}}</ref><ref name="woo">{{Cite news |last=Woo |first=Kin |date=2018-04-04 |title=The Husband-Wife Team Designing Clothes Inspired by David Lynch |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/t-magazine/fashion/kwaidan-editions-clothing.html |access-date=2021-12-07 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The first AtomAge clothing catalogue was published in 1965 and it expanded into a magazine in 1972.<ref name="bbc">{{Cite news |last=George |first=Cassidy |date=2020-01-08 |title=From fetish to fashion: The rise of latex |language=en |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20200108-from-fetish-to-fashion-the-rise-of-latex |access-date=2021-12-07}}</ref> The magazine ended in 1980.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/sep/11/john-sutcliffe-fetish-wear|title=King of kinky|first=Will|last=Hodgkinson|date=September 10, 2010|via=The Guardian}}</ref>
Sutcliffe published ''[[AtomAge]]'' magazine (later ''AtomAge International'' magazine), a [[fetish magazine]] published as an offshoot of his AtomAge fetish clothing business. The magazine has been called the "underground bible of leather, rubber and vinyl fetish wear throughout the 1970s"<ref name="trunk">{{Cite book |last=Trunk |first=Jonny |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7AjtRQAACAAJ |title=Dressing for Pleasure in Rubber, Vinyl & Leather: The Best of AtomAge, 1972-1980 |date=2010 |publisher=FUEL |isbn=978-0-9563562-3-9 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="kwaidan">{{Cite magazine |last=Phelps |first=Nicole |date=2021-03-03 |title=Kwaidan Editions Fall 2021 Ready-to-Wear Collection |url=https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2021-ready-to-wear/kwaidan-editions |magazine=Vogue |language=en-US |access-date=2021-12-07}}</ref> and documented Britain's S&M scene.<ref name="quinn">{{Cite news |last=Moreland |first=Quinn |date=2017-12-15 |title=Fever Ray Explains How Ball Gags, Leather Fetishes, and Weird Memes Inspired Her New Album |language=en |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/interview/fever-ray-explains-how-ball-gags-leather-fetishes-and-weird-memes-inspired-her-new-album/ |access-date=2021-12-07}}</ref><ref name="woo">{{Cite news |last=Woo |first=Kin |date=2018-04-04 |title=The Husband-Wife Team Designing Clothes Inspired by David Lynch |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/t-magazine/fashion/kwaidan-editions-clothing.html |access-date=2021-12-07 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The first AtomAge clothing catalogue was published in 1965 and it expanded into a magazine in 1972.<ref name="bbc">{{Cite news |last=George |first=Cassidy |date=2020-01-08 |title=From fetish to fashion: The rise of latex |language=en |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20200108-from-fetish-to-fashion-the-rise-of-latex |access-date=2021-12-07}}</ref> The magazine ended in 1980.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/sep/11/john-sutcliffe-fetish-wear|title=King of kinky|first=Will|last=Hodgkinson|date=September 10, 2010|via=The Guardian}}</ref>


Sutcliffe's creations were an inspiration for [[Sex (boutique)|Sex]], a [[boutique]] run by [[Vivienne Westwood]] and her then-partner [[Malcolm McLaren]] at 430 [[King's Road, London]] between 1974 and 1976, which specialized in clothing that defined the look of the [[Punk fashion|punk movement]].<ref name=PM>{{cite web|work=[[PopMatters]]|title=Fashionably Anti-Establishment: 'Punk: From Chaos to Couture'|author=J.C. Maçek III|date=6 June 2013|url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/171894-punk-from-chaos-to-couture-by-andrew-bolton-et.-al/}}</ref> <ref>https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/sep/11/john-sutcliffe-fetish-wear</ref>
Sutcliffe's work helped inspire [[Sex (boutique)|Sex]], a [[boutique]] run by [[Vivienne Westwood]] and her then-partner [[Malcolm McLaren]] at 430 [[King's Road, London]] between 1974 and 1976, which specialized in clothing that defined the look of the [[Punk fashion|punk movement]].<ref name=PM>{{cite web|work=[[PopMatters]]|title=Fashionably Anti-Establishment: 'Punk: From Chaos to Couture'|author=J.C. Maçek III|date=6 June 2013|url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/171894-punk-from-chaos-to-couture-by-andrew-bolton-et.-al/}}</ref> <ref>https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/sep/11/john-sutcliffe-fetish-wear</ref>


In 1982 Sutcliffe published a novel by Jim Dickson called ''The Story Of Gerda'', about [[Bondage (BDSM)|bondage]] and fetishism.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/sep/11/john-sutcliffe-fetish-wear|title=King of kinky|first=Will|last=Hodgkinson|date=September 10, 2010|via=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/21774/1/john-sutcliffe-rubber-johnny</ref> A copy of it was sent to the police, and to keep from being prosecuted he agreed to have all stock and AtomAge magazine plates destroyed.<ref>https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/21774/1/john-sutcliffe-rubber-johnny</ref>
In 1982 Sutcliffe published a novel by Jim Dickson called ''The Story Of Gerda'', about [[Bondage (BDSM)|bondage]] and fetishism.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/sep/11/john-sutcliffe-fetish-wear|title=King of kinky|first=Will|last=Hodgkinson|date=September 10, 2010|via=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/21774/1/john-sutcliffe-rubber-johnny</ref> A copy of it was sent to the police, and to keep from being prosecuted he agreed to have all stock and AtomAge magazine plates destroyed.<ref>https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/21774/1/john-sutcliffe-rubber-johnny</ref>

⚫
He created a sewing needle for [[Polyvinyl chloride|vinyl]] that improved the ability to stitch and work that material, and a method for attaching a [[muslin]]-type fabric to [[latex]], which after that could be securely sewn.<ref>https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/21774/1/john-sutcliffe-rubber-johnny</ref> He also created a sewing machine specifically for leather and asked [[Singer Corporation|Singer]] to manufacture it, but as remembered by his friend Robert Henley, "Singer were so horrified, they called the police."<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/sep/11/john-sutcliffe-fetish-wear</ref>


==Legacy==
==Legacy==
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[[Category:British fashion designers]]
[[Category:British fashion designers]]
[[Category:Fetish clothing manufacturers]]
[[Category:Fetish clothing manufacturers]]
[[Category:Leather subculture]]
[[Category:Sexual fetishism]]
[[Category:Sexual fetishism]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing]]

Revision as of 18:57, 25 September 2024

For other people named John Sutcliffe, see John Sutcliffe (disambiguation).

John Sutcliffe (died 1987) was a British fetish clothing designer and publisher of the fetish magazine AtomAge.[1]

In the 1950s he was divorced because his feelings about leather had led to him being diagnosed as mentally ill and treatment failed to change him.[2][3]

He began his AtomAge fetish clothing business in 1957, registering it as a “manufacturer of weatherproofs for lady pillion riders”.[4][5]

He was an influence on the leather catsuits worn by Emma Peel in The Avengers, and created the leather catsuit worn by Marianne Faithfull in the 1968 film The Girl on a Motorcycle.[3]

Sutcliffe published AtomAge magazine (later AtomAge International magazine), a fetish magazine published as an offshoot of his AtomAge fetish clothing business. The magazine has been called the "underground bible of leather, rubber and vinyl fetish wear throughout the 1970s"[6][7] and documented Britain's S&M scene.[8][9] The first AtomAge clothing catalogue was published in 1965 and it expanded into a magazine in 1972.[10] The magazine ended in 1980.[11]

Sutcliffe's work helped inspire Sex, a boutique run by Vivienne Westwood and her then-partner Malcolm McLaren at 430 King's Road, London between 1974 and 1976, which specialized in clothing that defined the look of the punk movement.[12] [13]

In 1982 Sutcliffe published a novel by Jim Dickson called The Story Of Gerda, about bondage and fetishism.[14][15] A copy of it was sent to the police, and to keep from being prosecuted he agreed to have all stock and AtomAge magazine plates destroyed.[16]

He created a sewing needle for vinyl that improved the ability to stitch and work that material, and a method for attaching a muslin-type fabric to latex, which after that could be securely sewn.[17] He also created a sewing machine specifically for leather and asked Singer to manufacture it, but as remembered by his friend Robert Henley, "Singer were so horrified, they called the police."[18]

Legacy

In 2023 he was inducted into the Leather Hall of Fame.[19]

Further reading

Dressing for Pleasure in Rubber, Vinyl and Leather: The Best of Atomage 1972-1980. Jonny Trunk (author). Damon Murray, Jonny Trunk, and Stephen Sorrell (editors).  United Kingdom: FUEL, 2010.

References

  1. ^ https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/sep/11/john-sutcliffe-fetish-wear
  2. ^ https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/21774/1/john-sutcliffe-rubber-johnny
  3. ^ a b "King of kinky". TheGuardian.com. 10 September 2010.
  4. ^ https://www.wmagazine.com/story/dressing-for-pleasure-book-john-sutcliffe
  5. ^ https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/21774/1/john-sutcliffe-rubber-johnny
  6. ^ Trunk, Jonny (2010). Dressing for Pleasure in Rubber, Vinyl & Leather: The Best of AtomAge, 1972-1980. FUEL. ISBN 978-0-9563562-3-9.
  7. ^ Phelps, Nicole (3 March 2021). "Kwaidan Editions Fall 2021 Ready-to-Wear Collection". Vogue. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  8. ^ Moreland, Quinn (15 December 2017). "Fever Ray Explains How Ball Gags, Leather Fetishes, and Weird Memes Inspired Her New Album". Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  9. ^ Woo, Kin (4 April 2018). "The Husband-Wife Team Designing Clothes Inspired by David Lynch". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  10. ^ George, Cassidy (8 January 2020). "From fetish to fashion: The rise of latex". Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  11. ^ Hodgkinson, Will (10 September 2010). "King of kinky" – via The Guardian.
  12. ^ J.C. Maçek III (6 June 2013). "Fashionably Anti-Establishment: 'Punk: From Chaos to Couture'". PopMatters.
  13. ^ https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/sep/11/john-sutcliffe-fetish-wear
  14. ^ Hodgkinson, Will (10 September 2010). "King of kinky" – via The Guardian.
  15. ^ https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/21774/1/john-sutcliffe-rubber-johnny
  16. ^ https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/21774/1/john-sutcliffe-rubber-johnny
  17. ^ https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/21774/1/john-sutcliffe-rubber-johnny
  18. ^ https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/sep/11/john-sutcliffe-fetish-wear
  19. ^ https://www.theleatherjournal.com/news/la-leather-getaway-by-claw-third-edition
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