John Sutcliffe (designer)

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

John Sutcliffe (died 1987)

It is a popular misconception that he designed the leather outfits for The Avengers. He did not. They were designed by Michael Whittaker for Honor Blackman and by John Bates for Diana Rigg, although they may have been made in his 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.

Sutcliffe published AtomAge magazine (later AtomAge International magazine), a fetish magazine published in Britain 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" and documented Britain's S&M scene. The first AtomAge clothing catalogue was published in 1965 and it expanded into a magazine in 1972.

Legacy

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

External links

• Dressing For Pleasure, the book of Atomage imagery, history and readers letters
• Atomage Magazine Appreciation Site (A private, non-commercial site featuring the history and work of John Sutcliffe and his Atomage fetish clothing business)
• EVOLVER article on John Sutcliffe (in German)