Reviews
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, Sept. 11, 2010, 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., 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*, Aug. 2010, 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.
