The Zipper Is Getting Its First Major Upgrade in 100 Years

“We wanted to address the challenges involved in zipper sewing,” says Makoto Nishizaki, vice president of YKK’s Application Development Division. The idea grew out of a collaboration with JUKI Corporation, a leader in industrial sewing machines. Together, the two companies reconsidered how a zipper could be made and how it could merge more seamlessly with fabric. The partnership began in 2017 and made its public debut at the JIAM 2022 Osaka trade show—a detail that hints at how long YKK plays the long game.

If YKK’s name doesn’t ring a bell, check the pull tab on your jackets or pants, because you probably already wear their work. In 2023, the company had more than $6 billion in revenue. Founded in Japan in 1934, the company makes zippers for everyone from Prada and Arc’teryx to Patagonia and The North Face.

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.

Reinventing an Everyday Mechanism

The zipper, as we know it, hasn’t had a real overhaul since the 1910s. Its long reign owes much to reliability—it’s sturdy, inexpensive, and easy to sew. For most of the 20th century, that was enough. But materials have evolved. Designers now work with featherlight nylons, stretch fabrics, and technical blends that behave more like skin than cloth. The old zipper, with its woven borders and stiff seams, has started to feel out of sync with what surrounds it.

“There has been a growing demand from the market for lighter and more flexible garments,” Nishizaki says. “And similar expectations have extended to zippers.” However, removing the tape introduced a host of engineering problems. Those strips of fabric give a zipper its structure and provide the surface tailors sew through. Without them, YKK had to rethink every step of production.