John Sutcliffe(VI)

John Sutcliffe was a British costume designer and publisher. Having graduated from the College of Aeronautical Engineering in Chelsea he later became chief inspector of engines with the pre-war British Airways, designed a cigarette packet sized wireless receiver and enjoyed repairing antique china. In 1957 Sutcliffe started Atomage as "a manufacturer of weatherproofs for lady pillion riders" the business was located in a back room in Hampstead and had a secondhand sewing machine that John adapted himself to cope with leather and vinyl, he taught himself dressmaking. In the winter of 1972 John started Atomage magazine at the suggestion of Helen Henley who was a regular customer of Atomage. John hoped to use the magazine as not only a showcase for his new designs but as a means of explaining to females the reasons why males want to see them dress in leather clothes.