8 ms·
The zipper is getting its first major upgrade in 100 years
https://web.archive.org/web/20251019162445/https://www.wired.com/story/the-zipper-is-getting-its-first-major-upgrade-in-100-years/ https://web.archive.org/web/20251019162445/https://www.wired...
https://archive.ph/FxsAT https://archive.ph/FxsAT
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- Amorymeltzer 1y agoThe excellent Avery Trufelman (formerly of 99% Invisible) has been running Articles of Interest (<https://www.articlesofinterest.co https://www.articlesofinterest.co> and <https://articlesofinterest.substack.com https://articlesofinterest.substack.com>), a surprisingly interesting podcast about clothing and and culture and so much more. The Ivy League episodes are a great example of what they're about. Over the summer, they had an episode about the zipper—<https://articlesofinterest.substack.com/p/new-episode-zippers https://articlesofinterest.substack.com/p/new-episode-zipper...> and <https://www.articlesofinterest.co/podcast/episode/2b1f2292/zippers https://www.articlesofinterest.co/podcast/episode/2b1f2292/z...>—which is well worth a listen.
- amelius 1y agoAfter reading the article I have no idea what is different in the new version.
- dewey 1y ago> Their new AiryString zipper looks ordinary at first glance. Then you realize what’s missing: there’s no tape. That absence transforms everything. Without the woven fabric that normally flanks the teeth, the AiryString is lighter, sleeker, and far more flexible.
- WesolyKubeczek 1y agoApparently no tape, the zipper is bare, so special sewing machines are required and you plebs cannot just repair your clothes affordably (or yourself) anymore.
- gilfoy 1y agoAll the other zippers will still exist. Clothes without zippers will still exist. Roughly nobody does this anyway.
- Gualdrapo 1y ago> Roughly nobody does this anyway. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof and at least here in this so-called "third world" country plenty of people makes their clothing to be repaired in any way or do it themselves (even me, sometimes)
- konart 1y ago>Roughly nobody does this anyway. I had at least z dozen zippers replaced through my life. Some times you a very good product with poorly chosen zipper, some times it is some sort of an accident. I find the idea of buying a new coat instead of fixing a small part of the old one weird.
- iancmceachern 1y agoThis doesn't change that, I expect you can still remove this a zipper and have another sewn on, just as before
- konart 1y agoYou can, but you (or rather atelier\studio) will have to buy a special machine to do so.
- oompydoompy74 1y agoThen you didn’t read the article. It’s spelled out pretty explicitly.
- the__alchemist 1y agoWhat I can't figure out is how the new version attached to the fabric. That's at the core of this right? Metal-fabric interface.
- grapesodaaaaa 1y agoI wonder how fabrics will handle the mechanical wear vs the durable tape “track” used in a traditional zipper
- OptionOfT 1y agoThey won't. They only work with garments < 1.3mm. Nothing here is about durability.
- iancmceachern 1y ago“The absence of the tape posed various production challenges,” Nishizaki says. “We had to develop new manufacturing equipment and a dedicated sewing machine for integration.”
- mrits 1y agoThey found a worse way to create a worse zipper with a proprietary machine that no one owns . This is the future
- tempestn 1y agoIt's not worse; it's different, and better for some applications. Specifically when high flexibility and/or sleek appearance are valued above cost and durability. One example that immediately comes to mind is zip-up pockets in athletic wear.
- jjhale 1y agoThe pdf linked in other threads shows that the teeth have a fabric cord running through the middle of them. Then each tooth is surrounded by about 18 tiny stitches. https://imgur.com/a/o1jxAuS https://imgur.com/a/o1jxAuS
- pwg 1y agoThe fourth, and last, photo of zippers in the article shows the old and new versions side by side, making it easy to see what is different.
- bookofjoe 1y agoHere you go: https://imgur.com/a/FQGdSkg https://imgur.com/a/FQGdSkg
- amelius 1y agoYes, so the zipper hasn't changed, just the way it is attached to the fabric.
- bookofjoe 1y agoFrom the Wired article: "The teeth were redesigned..."
- card_zero 1y agoRedesigned to attach to the fabric in a different way, I think. Usually the teeth are attached somehow to the fabric strip. I think the strip has a ridge at the edge where the teeth go, and the teeth are clamped over that ridge to hold them in place. Then the fabric strip is easy to sew onto a garment. It looks like the new design has only the ridge, hence it's called a string, and is hard to sew onto a garment.
- iancmceachern 1y agoNo, from the article: "Without them, YKK had to rethink every step of production The teeth were redesigned, the manufacturing process rewritten, and new machinery developed to attach the closure to garments. “The absence of the tape posed various production challenges,” Nishizaki says."
- Kikawala 1y agoPDF catalog for the AiryString has a lot more details and technical information. https://ykkdigitalshowroom.com/assets/AiryString_202507_en.pdf https://ykkdigitalshowroom.com/assets/AiryString_202507_en.p... It looks like there is a core cord inside the zipper teeth. The specialized sewing machine stitches the cord to the fabric in between each teeth... tooth?
- more_corn 1y agoThat cloth strip the zipper is attached to so it can be sewn into the clothing is gone.
- Avicebron 1y agoLink to what the upgrade looks like https://ykkdigitalshowroom.com/en/item/143/ https://ykkdigitalshowroom.com/en/item/143/
- bookofjoe 1y agoAnother view: https://imgur.com/a/FQGdSkg https://imgur.com/a/FQGdSkg
- blacksmith_tb 1y agoThis one[1] shows how the teeth are sewn on, which does look like it would be hard to do by hand (and impossible with a normal sewing machine). 1: https://ykkdigitalshowroom.com/assets/80006b690a9e47db1e62ad726f3e2920644a88cd.jpg https://ykkdigitalshowroom.com/assets/80006b690a9e47db1e62ad...
- IAmBroom 1y agoOK, finally I see why a new sewing machine was needed. Thank you! That's a sort of quasi-saddle-stitch, and one mistake in timing the length and 'phase' of the stitch means a broken needle.
- addaon 1y agoSo, uh, how is it attached to the garment? They talk about specialized sewing equipment, so it’s not bonded (although for polymer-based outerwear solvent bonding seems like the ultimate end-point)… but there’s no thru-holes or other obvious attachment points. Something boring but hidden (hole from the side to the bottom), or something more interesting?
- epwr 1y agoLikely they will be heat welded to a polyethylene. You can sew this for extra strength. Which I think means a fully recyclable jacket!
- germinalphrase 1y agoThere does appear to be a connecting strand between the teeth, and the article indicates you need a specialized sewing machine. They must sew it, but repairable is probably impacted.
- dnpls 1y agoFrom the YKK Digital Showroom website: > The AiryString® tapeless zipper is designed for elements to be sewn directly onto fabric by a special machine. https://ykkdigitalshowroom.com/en/item/143/ https://ykkdigitalshowroom.com/en/item/143/
- jasonthorsness 1y agoHm I think the tape also serves to stiffen and align the two sides; so it might have a downside
- konart 1y agoHow do you replace a broken zipper than?
- iancmceachern 1y agoI expect the same way you do now
- konart 1y agoRight now zippers have a piece of fabric. You can sew it with any machine or even by hand. This new one requires a special machine to sew it.
- iancmceachern 1y agoI bet it could be done by hand by an experienced hand
- em-bee 1y agoand turn a 5 minute task into a half-hour one.
- iancmceachern 1y agoWhich is fine?
- em-bee 1y agoit makes a difference if the repair costs $5 or $25 and if it can be done on the spot, or if i have to wait until tomorrow.
- iancmceachern 1y ago$25 to repair a zipper in 1 day is pretty great, I would.be very happy with that
- Danieru 1y agoThis is a big deal for YKK. Until a few years ago they had a hold on the upper end of the market. The chinese competitor's quality was unreliable enough that clothing manufacturers were willing to pay a premium to ensure a failed zipper does not trash a garment. That situation has been changing, and chinese companies are offering zippers which are getting used on progressively higher end products. By releasing a new product with substantial changes and thus patentability they can buy a few decades at the top of the market. I suspect this technology has been in development for a long time, and held back until competitors were threatening the premium traditional zipper market.
- dingnuts 1y agowhy would China respect a Japanese patent?
- Our_Benefactors 1y agoThey won’t, but clothing manufacturers will or they’ll be subject to Japanese lawsuits.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- Marsymars 1y agoThey may not, but you can't really sell patent-violating products at scale in patent-respecting countries without opening yourself up to lawsuits.
- mmooss 1y agoThey want Japan to respect Chinese patents, and they want to benefit from trade with Japan.
- harimau777 1y agoYKK still has the advantage in that they are known for quality. I use YKK in my sewing because I can count on them being good. On the other hand, I don't know which Chinese manufactuers are reliable.
- neom 1y ago"Please be aware that when using AiryString® on fabrics with the following characteristics, there are concerns that the zipper may come unstitched, roll into the slider, or not be strong enough. ◇ Fabrics with notably low slippage resistance ( woven fabrics: fabrics with low thread counts, knitted fabrics: fabrics with loose tension). ◇ Fabrics with low friction resistance ◇ Fabrics with large bumps ◇ Shaggy fabrics" Seems like the target use case is Athleisure?
- jsolson 1y agoThat would make sense. My first thought was "Arc'teryx will probably adopt this immediately." They (and similar brands) are already pushing as hard as they can on seamlessness or very very tight seams.
- harimau777 1y agoDoesn't Arc'teryx make outdoor gear? That's something where I absolutely would not buy a product that I couldn't repair in the field with a needle and thread.
- jerlam 1y agoYes, Arcteryx makes outdoor gear, but more along the line of technical climbing and backcountry skiing, not backpacking. Not likely to carry a needle and thread to repair your 3L Goretex shell. Of course the brand has been diluted to cater to a more mainstream buyer.
- emptybits 1y ago"Major Upgrade" for the fast, disposable fashion crowd. Major downgrade for maintainability and ability to repair. This "upgraded" zipper will be impossible to replace if broken at home, by hand or with a machine, or even at a typical professional repair shop. YKK documents say a "dedicated AiryString® sewing machine" is required.[1] [1]https://ykkdigitalshowroom.com/assets/AiryString_202507_en.pdf https://ykkdigitalshowroom.com/assets/AiryString_202507_en.p...
- Retr0id 1y agoIt might be more challenging but I don't see why you couldn't also sew this by hand.
- OptionOfT 1y agoFabrics have gotten a lot thinner, and thus develop holes a lot more quickly. I have t-shirts from 2010 which are faded but have 0 holes. Whereas t-shirts I bought half a year ago have holes in them. Also, you mentioning the inability to repair stuff at home makes me sad. My mom, 72 year old, repaired my nephew's jacket the other day. Brand new zipper. The machine in that PDF you shared makes me feel YKK is going in the direction of Apple. They supply the parts and the manufacturing device. You do something they don't like? Sewing machine turns off.
- emptybits 1y agoYes. Also at the above link: "All AiryString® part sales and leasing of dedicated sewing machines are conducted between YKK and the customer. YKK will also coordinate the installation and startup of sewing machines at garment manufacturing factories. For more information on leasing dedicated sewing machines, please contact your YKK representative"
- portaouflop 1y agoThe fix is easy: Don’t buy new clothes from fast fashion brands or stores. If you only buy quality from small stores and independent designers you still get the same quality you got 15 years ago. Sure it’s 2-3 times the price but it’s worth it.
- tokai 1y agoThe water resistant zipper is not a 100 years old, and that was a huge upgrade.
- aidenn0 1y agoI think the same is true of the self-healing zipper, but I can't find a source for when it was invented.
- nmeofthestate 1y agoLooks very cool, but absolutely laughable that they tried to sell an environmental angle. I don't say that because it's "actually the opposite" or anything like that - the impact either way will be fuck all.
- bobthepanda 1y agoIn the grand scheme of textiles, which actually are a major source of environmental harm, it’s probably the choice of textile that would impact emissions the most. Cotton is one of the most water hungry crops we grow and resulted in the drying up of the Aral Sea; animal products have all the emissions associated with animal farming; and synthetics are generally petroleum based.
- em-bee 1y agowhat's the best alternative to cotton?
- bobthepanda 1y agoHemp or linen probably. Cotton recycling is also better than new cotton. But for clothes the heavy emphasis is on "reduce" and "reuse" which is why fast fashion is so insidious. One major problem that has arisen recently is that a lot of clothes now are cotton blends which cannot easily be recycled.
- thunderbong 1y agoA close-up video https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tWdVvDEol5Q https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tWdVvDEol5Q
- olejorgenb 1y agoPublished 4 years ago, yet it show this new product unless I'm mistaken.
- olejorgenb 1y ago> Early adopters are already experimenting. Descente Japan, known for technical sportswear, was among the first to prototype AiryString in 2022
- mgnienie 1y agoThere is another one from two years ago with more details: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1JN9kR3EZw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1JN9kR3EZw
- lvl155 1y agoI’d like to see a self-correcting zipper design.
- masklinn 1y agoDo you mean self-healing zippers? They've existed for years.
- behnamoh 1y ago> That incremental progress mirrors YKK’s founding philosophy, the “Cycle of Goodness.” The principle—that no one prospers without benefiting others—has supposedly guided the company for decades. It’s visible in its other micro-improvements: corrosion-resistant alloys, sound-dampened sliders, recyclable polyester tapes. AiryString continues that tradition, shrinking the zipper’s physical and environmental footprint at once. This is alien to SF AI startups and patent trolls.
- ardit33 1y agonot a productive comment. The web is made and run by myriad of frameworks, that were developed open source by startups, or folks that worked in tech that wanted to improve things bit by bit and wanted to share to the community. Tech in general is the much more open industry compared to any other (cars, biotech, etc), and it is uniquely where closed sourced frameworks have a har time to succeed.
- kakacik 1y agoNone of them will be around for long, and if yes only by pure unintended accident. But dont blame the participants, they fight for money in system setup for them. If people will reward clearly more moral businesses, over time even the most hardened sociopath will pick up the cues. If you want to hate something, hate how uncaring an average person is, driven by simple, easy to manipulate emotions, not fighting primal urges even if they drive them off the cliff, or even caring more deeply about themselves, who they are and where they go.
- XenophileJKO 1y agoIsn't it kind of the opposite? Taking a ethical stance is often superficially suboptimal at maximizing personal value. Obviously moral frameworks vary by culture, but commonly involve setting aside some amount of self interest. The same is true of a business, primarily driven by the executives and carried out by rank and file.
- edelbitter 1y agoHaving your customers suddenly require proprietary machinery (only sold/licensed by you) to unlock the full potential of your upgraded product line.. does seem compatible with the SF startup way of thinking.
- empiricus 1y agotangent: all my pants have zipper pockets. after almost losing my phone in a taxi in dubai a long time ago, I always get pants with zippers, even though I do not always close them...
- tempaccount420 1y agoDo you find it hard to buy new pants? I wish there was a search engine for clothes...
- opan 1y agoI similarly had an issue with stuff falling out of my pockets which made me get pants with zipper pockets. In the end I was disappointed. I had some pants and shorts from Fjallraven and the zippers on the pockets all failed in under a year from what I recall. I ended up switching to all Duluth Trading Co. pants/shorts. These do NOT have zipper pockets, but they DID solve my problem, somehow. The pockets are deeper and perhaps a better shape. I've hung upside down in an inversion table, pockets stuffed full with what some would call an excessive EDC, and nothing falls out. I would say avoid excercise-y pants/shorts and pajama pants, they have particularly bad pockets. That alone helped me quite a bit. I went from more lounge-y wear to dressing like a tradesman on the average day. The Duluth Trading pants are a lot more comfortable than any blue jeans I've worn before, as well as more durable and with more pockets. I have seen some other brands with similar design but can't recall the names. I just know I got some pair from Menard's or Fleet Farm once as a gift and the pocket layout was surprisingly identical to my Duluth Trading pants. I didn't like them as much, but I don't remember any specific major flaws either. Mostly including that tidbit to sound less like an ad for DT.
- helterskelter 1y ago> When asked what zippers might look like in 50 years, Nishizaki doesn’t talk about smart fabrics or AI-assisted closures. He returns to YKK’s mantra: “Little parts. Big difference.” AI-assisted closures? I'm struggling to imagine a use case. Surely this is humor...
- IAmBroom 1y agoIt's journalist-speak for "I'm current and tuned-in!".
- andrewgleave 1y agoMy Lindy alarm has gone off!
- Traubenfuchs 1y agoHow I'd love to work in an environment like that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBprQffr2g4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBprQffr2g4
- aydyn 1y agoThe upgrade I want is a two way zipper that actually works well. Current two way zippers suck, so most jacket manufacturers have abandoned them completely. Honestly dont see the point of this "upgrade". Normal zippers work fine.
- nikanj 1y agoAverage startup team replaced all zippers and buttons with experimental fasteners three sprints ago, because a tech that doesn’t get quarterly upgrades is clearly obsolete
- chrchr 1y agoAnyone interested in zippers, or, more significantly for this website, how new technologies are invented, adopted, and mature, should read "Zipper: An Exploration in Novelty" by Robert D. Friedel [1] YKK is kind of one of the heroes of the story. The zipper was pioneered by the U.S. company Talon Fastener, which was acquired and parted out in the 1970s. YKK bought the legacy machining for manufacturing zippers and went on to dominate the global market. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Zipper-Exploration-Robert-D-Friedel/dp/0393313654 https://www.amazon.com/Zipper-Exploration-Robert-D-Friedel/d...
- hn_throwaway_99 1y agoI don't like "submarine" PR articles like this, because I feel like the author didn't ask any of the obvious questions around this zipper: 1. No closeup pics of how the zipper is actually sewed onto fabrics. 2. Is this design more likely to tear fabrics than a traditional zipper? A video another commenter linked made it look more fragile to me, but I don't know. 3. The biggest issue with any zipper is snags. This design looks like it would be a lot more likely to snag, but maybe not. 4. As other commenters mentioned, can it be repaired without special equipment? I'm not saying this design is good or bad, just that this puff piece article didn't ask any of the immediate questions I had.
- whycome 1y agoAgreed > Its dominance comes from an unusual level of control: YKK manufactures its own machines, designs its own molds, and even spins its own thread. That self-sufficiency lets it experiment in ways competitors can’t, turning a mundane component into a field for continuous innovation. I thought the point was that there hasn’t been any innovation??
- hilbert42 1y ago"The biggest issue with any zipper is snags. This design looks like it would be a lot more likely to snag, but maybe not." I can't see this new design solving that problem. Of all the day-to-day inanimate objects I've encountered I'd single out zippers as the most problematic I've come across. I cannot think of another device I've had so much trouble with. They snag, jam, the teeth fall out or tear out with little provocation, they come 'unraveled' at the ends and cannot be easily fixed. Fly zippers have even caused me injury, and when used on sleeping bags and like they catch the fabric and either damage it or break in the process of untangling them. And if that's not enough, the metal parts of zippers corrode in washing detergents and stain removers—often to the extent that it's a significant cause of zipper failures. Moreover, zippers are much more difficult to replace than buttons—I can replace a button on a shirt or fly in a minute or two but replacing a zipper is a major undertaking especially if one is not expert with a sewing machine. Zippers on jackets are often the worst, I've an ex NATO military jacket that's tough and hard wearing and extremely well made that I'd never be without in winter but its YKK zipper gives me no end of trouble. And recently I've scrapped two perfectly good high-visibility jackets because zipper teeth have pulled out and in both instances the zippers weren't subject to abuse (these zippers weren't YKK brand). Give me buttons any day. PS: my other peeve is Velcro on clothing. I dare not mention the tortures that ought to be inflicted on the person who came up with that abomination of an idea.
- downrightmike 1y agoI skimmed the article and have no clue what they are calling revolutionary. It will fail.
- IAmBroom 1y agoWell, that's it. Pack your bags; one internet reader can't understand the big deal here.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- dan-robertson 1y agoThis feels to me like the right place to be trying to innovate. Zippers tend to be pretty good for the most technical clothing (and some other cases that demand textiles). In ordinary settings, I find more and more that I prefer pullovers, buttons, or other traditional fastening/closure mechanisms.
- harimau777 1y agoWith stuff like this, technical fabrics that manufacturers refuse to sell to anyone other than businesses, and Joann's going out of business, it almost feels like there's a push to prevent individuals from making or repairing their own clothes. I don't necessarily think it's a conspiracy, but it does feel like the logical extension of late stage capitalism's love of planned obsolescence, vendor lock in, etc. I despirately want off of this ride.
- Doxin 1y agoFor everyone in the comments assuming these will be unrepairable I... don't think they will be? As far as I can tell this has zipper teeth on cord instead of tape. I don't see why that'd be impossible to hand-sew. It might be a bit more fiddly because it'll be more flexible. If anything it'll be much easier to seam rip existing zippers because you can just put the seam ripper between the teeth and cut the cord instead of the stitching. The proprietary sewing machine does seem like it's not amazing competition wise, but if you think Chinese manufacturers aren't going to have a clone the second this becomes popular you haven't been paying attention. It'll basically be a sewing machine that does a zigzag stitch with a modified transport so the needle doesn't hit the teeth. The one thing I do think is a disadvantage is that this style of zipper would put limits on how thick the fabric it's attached to can be. Normally the tape goes between the sides of the runner, but now it's the actual garment fabric. Might have implications for wear too.