For a company that makes most of the world’s zippers, new ideas have a big impact. At Japan’s YKK, they have debuted a zipper that has no fabric tape — the typically black-colored strip of material that separates the back of the zipper teeth from the garment. Companies Prada and North Face have both embraced the new zipper, with users testifying to its flexibility, lighter weight, more unifying design, and more natural fit. The secret behind AiryString is that the zipper teeth are more flexible than the fabric tape they attach to. Since the modern zipper’s debut in 1910, there has been little need for innovation. Now, however, “smart fabrics” have left the zipper out of sync with what it surrounds. Without the tape, YKK had to redesign everything, including the machinery that sews and closes the garment. For YKK, the beauty of that is that they own not only the patents on its finished product in 180 countries, but also on a suite of sewing machines that the company manufactures itself. It also owns the molds for the tapeless zippers and spins its own thread.
