I always thought zippers were a modern thing, but I was way off

I was watching a documentary on YouTube about the history of workwear, and they mentioned the first metal zipper for clothes was patented in 1917. That blew my mind, I figured they came along maybe in the 50s with all the other plastic stuff. It got me thinking about how we could bring back some of those early designs, maybe with a modern twist on the teeth or pull. Has anyone ever designed a piece around a vintage closure like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

sage30810d ago

Right? Modern zippers are a scam. I'm convinced they're designed to fail so you buy a new jacket.

fiona_west2110d ago

Switched to metal zippers years ago.

charlescraig10d ago

Found a pair of old coveralls at a flea market with a heavy duty metal zipper from maybe the 1940s. The teeth were this dull brass and the pull felt solid, not like the flimsy stuff now. I had a tailor copy the zipper style onto a modern jacket I wear for camping. It's the most reliable closure I own, never snags. Those old designs just had better materials.