What were zippers first called?

The device that seems as simple and essential as a shoelace today was not always known by the crisp, onomatopoeic word we use now. Decades of tinkering, numerous patents, and several brilliant, yet distinct, engineering minds contributed to the invention that ultimately became the zipper. When asking what these slide-together fasteners were first called, the answer depends on which inventor’s iteration you are referencing, as the journey was long, beginning not as a zipper but as a solution for tedious boot fastenings.

# Early Closures

The earliest known concept for an automated clothing closure arrived in 1851 from Elias Howe Jr., the same inventor famous for improving the sewing machine. Howe secured a patent for what he termed an “Automatic, Continuous Clothing Closure”. However, this initial attempt was more akin to an elaborate drawstring than the interlocking teeth we recognize today. Howe ultimately abandoned marketing this closure, likely prioritizing the success of his sewing machine, meaning this specific terminology faded before the device saw any commercial viability.

# Judson’s Locker

The device that more closely resembles the modern zipper first appeared nearly four decades later, thanks to Whitcomb L. Judson. Judson, an American inventor from Chicago, focused his efforts on replacing the laborious process of buttoning tall boots. His vision resulted in a mechanism that he named either the “Slide Fastener” or the “Clasp Locker”. Judson secured his patent for a “Shoe-Fastening” in 1893, though an improved version of his design was approved in May of that year. His creation was essentially a complicated hook-and-eye shoe fastener that utilized a slider mechanism.

Judson, along with his partner Colonel Lewis Walker, launched the Universal Fastener Company to bring this device to market, showcasing it publicly at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Despite the fanfare, the debut was met with minimal commercial success. The fundamental problem was mechanical: the clasp locker had a tendency to tear fabric or simply pull itself apart when under strain. This lack of reliability meant that Judson’s terms—Clasp Locker and Slide Fastener—did not stick in the public consciousness, leaving the innovation dormant for many years, despite Judson’s continued work until about 1904.

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# Hoboken’s Engineer

The true ancestor of today’s familiar fastener was brought to life by Gideon Sundback, a Swedish-American electrical engineer. Sundback joined the Universal Fastener Company (which later reorganized and moved) and took up the challenge of perfecting Judson's unreliable design. Working in Hoboken, New Jersey, Sundback committed himself to creating a durable, practical alternative.

Sundback’s genius lay in replacing the awkward hooks and eyes with two facing rows of fine metal teeth that were designed to interlock perfectly via a slider. He secured a patent in Germany in 1909 and followed this with a key U.S. patent for the “Hookless Fastener No. 1” on April 29, 1913. He later patented the “Separable Fastener” in 1917, which closely resembles the modern iteration. Furthermore, Sundback was an inventor of necessity, designing the specialized "S-L" machine to produce his complex interlocking elements quickly and efficiently, capable of making hundreds of feet of fastener chain per day.

When considering the functionality of modern clothing closures, it is insightful to contrast the initial target application with the eventual success. Judson focused exclusively on shoes, a bulky, difficult-to-fasten item that rarely saw frequent daily use. Sundback’s improved design, though functionally superior, initially saw its main sales in boots and tobacco pouches. It took nearly two decades for the fastener to transition from an occasional-use item to a necessity for daily dressing, illustrating that an invention’s utility is often dictated by market habits rather than just mechanical perfection.

# The Birth of “Zipper”

Even after Sundback’s 1917 Separable Fastener was patented, the device still lacked a common name. The industry surrounding it was sometimes referred to as the Hookless Fastener Company, but this was a descriptor of its function, not a catchy trademark.

The moniker that finally stuck came in 1923, thanks to the B. F. Goodrich Company. Goodrich decided to incorporate Sundback’s hookless fastener into a new line of rubber boots, or galoshes. The company marketed these boots by highlighting the characteristic zip sound the fastener made when rapidly opened or closed with one hand. They dubbed the product the “Zipper,” and the name immediately resonated with the public, becoming the generic term for the entire class of fasteners. By 1925, the term was officially trademarked.

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# Military Adoption and Fashion Acceptance

Before the Zipper became synonymous with fashionable attire, it found a crucial, non-aesthetic role that solidified its production capability: military equipment. During World War I, the Hookless Fastener Company found major success selling its product for money belts, which were vital for U.S. sailors whose uniforms lacked secure pockets. This need for security and rapid access propelled early mass production. The Navy later ordered fasteners for 10,000 flying suits in 1918, further proving the device’s value in high-stakes environments.

The transition to mainstream apparel was gradual, taking another decade after the name Zipper was established. A major turning point arrived in the 1930s, partly driven by a marketing push for children’s clothing, touted as a way to promote self-reliance by enabling youngsters to dress themselves without assistance.

The true fashion acceptance came via high-end design houses. French designer Elsa Schiaparelli began featuring zippers prominently in her mid-1930s designs, sometimes using them as visible, colorful decorative accents on sportswear and dresses, not just for closure. This elevated the fastener from a purely utilitarian component to a mark of modern design. The zipper won its most famous early fashion endorsement in 1937 during the "Battle of the Fly," when Esquire magazine praised the zipper fly in men’s trousers as the "Newest Tailoring Idea for Men," noting it excluded the "possibility of unintentional and embarrassing disarray".

This shift from boots and tobacco pouches to everyday clothing represents a significant cultural move. Where buttons symbolized tradition and time-consuming closure, the zipper represented speed and modernity. The move toward more casual silhouettes for both men and women created a perfect vacuum for a fast, secure closure like the zipper to dominate the market.

# Durability Versus Convenience

The zipper’s rapid ascent is also a story of convenience trumping repairability—a tension that remains today. While it is incredibly fast to operate, a zipper, especially a modern plastic one, is often the least durable component on a garment. A worn slider or a broken tooth can render an entire piece of clothing unusable until a repair is made. Before replacement kits became widely accessible, a broken zipper often meant discarding the garment. This stands in contrast to older fasteners like buttons or laces, which are often simple to reattach or mend with basic sewing skills.

This dynamic has taken on an environmental dimension in the current era of fast fashion. The reliance on inexpensive plastic zippers means that as the garment is used and washed, these plastic elements shed microplastics into the water supply. Because clothing is increasingly treated as disposable, the incentive to carefully repair a zipper, whether metal or plastic, wanes, contributing to textile waste.

The initial names—Clasp Locker, Slide Fastener, Automatic Clothing Closure—were descriptive of the mechanical action or the problem they solved. It was only after decades of iterative improvement, particularly by Sundback, and subsequent marketing by Goodrich that the onomatopoeia Zipper took over. The history shows that the initial name was less important than the final, reliable function, which the public enthusiastically embraced, even if that embrace unintentionally encouraged a more disposable view of our clothing.