Overview

AtomAge magazine was the underground bible of leather, rubber and vinyl fetish wear throughout the 1970s. Founded, designed and published by John Sutcliffe as a way of showcasing his extraordinary clothing designs, it quickly became a focal point for explorers of every kind of fledgling clothing scene. For its readers, AtomAge was both an instruction manual and a mirror. The experimental clothing, including items made by the readers themselves, transformed a passion for a sexual kink into a cult phenomenon. From motorbiking and mask wearing, to mudlarking and wading worship, AtomAge covered every conceivalbe wrinkle. The photographs reflect an age of amateur enthusiasm, before fetish became the industry it is today, inadvertently depicting a suburbia fromwhich Dressing for Pleasure was a necessary escape. These outrageous costumes were an inspiration to a new generation of fashion designers, many of whom have since been assimilated into high-end collections. Presenting the most astonishing imagery from all thirty-two issues of this now rare and sought-after cult magazine, Dressing for Pleasure illustrates not just Sutcliffe’s exceptional designs, but also, through their own photography and writing, the fantasies and desires of AtomAge followers.

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AtomAge remains Sutcliffe's greatest achievement. It made extreme fetish outfits look as threatening as a car boot sale in Cobham, normalizing something previously seen as shameful.--Will Hodgkinson The Guardian Weekend (09/11/2011)

AtomAge remains Sutcliffe's greatest achievement. It made extreme fetish outfits look as threatening as a car boot sale in Cobham, normalizing something previously seen as shameful...The book revives a strangely innocent secret world, one that almost gained wider exposure in 1977 when the documentary-maker John Samson shot a profile of the fetish scene, with Sutcliffe looking and sounding for all the world like a retired major, albeit one wearing a vinyl catsuit and a chain around his neck.--Will Hodgkinson The Guardian Weekend (09/11/2011) Fuel Publishing, an arm of 20-year-old London-based graphic design firm Fuel Design, has built a solid reputation for producing distinctive books exploring themes related to art, design and photography. This month's Dressing for Pleasure is a smart edit of imagery from AtomAge, the cult fetishwear periodical founded in the 1970s, by clothing designer John Sutcliffe.Enjoying a 32-issue lifespan, it explored the emerging fetish scene, revelling in professional and amateur designs in leather, rubber and vinyl. Now that fetishwear is a sophisticated industry, and integrated into high-fashion design, this collection of AtomAge photography is a fascinating documentation of its suburban underground roots.--Emma Moore Wallpaper* (08/01/2010)

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