The zipper did not originate in a sudden wave of ingenuity. It emerged out of a long and patient technological struggle that required twenty years to transform the initial idea into a marketplace reality. It then took an additional ten years to persuade people to use it.

Originally, the zipper was not conceived as a clothing fastener to compete with the ever-popular button, but as a slide to close high boots with, which replaced the long buttonhooked shoelaces from the 1890s.

On August 29, 1893, Whitcomb Judson, a mechanical engineer living in Chicago, was awarded a patent for a “clasp-locker.” At the time, there was nothing in the patent office files that even remotely resembled this prototype zipper of Judson’s. Although he held a dozen patents at the time for railroad brakes and motors, he couldn’t find anyone interested in the clasp-locker. The device consisted of a linear sequence of hook-and-eye locks, resembling a medieval torture apparatus, rather than a modern time-saver.

Judson put the clasp-locker on display at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, but of the 20+ million visitors, the zipper was unfortunately ignored. Later, Judson’s company, Universal Fastener, did receive an order from the United States Postal Service for twenty zipper mail bags, but the zippers jammed so often that the bags were eventually discarded.

Perfection of the device came later in 1913, when Swedish-American engineer Gideon Sundback produced a smaller, lighter, and more reliable fastener, which was the modern zipper. The first orders for Sundback came from the United States Army for use on equipment and clothing during World War I.

Goodrich Ad for Zipper BootsThe early metal zippers were not very efficient. They rusted easily and they had to be unstitched before a garment was washed, and then sewn back in after the garment had dried. In 1923, the B.F. Goodrich Company introduced rubber galoshes with the new “hookless fasteners.”

Mr. Goodrich himself is credited with coining the term ‘zipper,' saying that it made a z-z-z-zip sounds when he was closing his boots. Goodrich named his new product “Zipper Boots” and he ordered 150,000 zippers from the Hookless Fastener Company, which would later change its name to Talon. The unusual name ‘zipper,’ as well as increased reliability and rust proofing, greatly helped popularize zippers.

Concealed under a flap, the zipper was a common fastener on clothing by the late 1920s. It became a fashion accessory in its own right in 1935, when renowned designer Elsa Schiaparelli introduced a spring clothing collection which The New Yorker described as “dripping with zippers.” Schiaparelli was the first fashion designer to produce colorful zippers, oversized zippers, and zippers that were decorative and nonfunctional.

After a slow birth and years of rejection, the zipper found its way into all sorts of designs and products. Unfortunately, Whitcomb Judson, who conceived this original idea in the late 1800s, died in 1909 believing that his invention might never find a practical application. Oh, if he could only see the zipper today.

Photo by The Swinging Dot