Zippers discussion

[Vampyrvargfesten]

Probably the most overlooked piece of a garment.

General discussion on your favorite zipper manufacturers, and zipper usage on your favorite pieces. From Lampos, Riris, Talon, etc...

[manifestchaos]

I've been disappointed with a lot of garments' zippers. I just bought a Helmut Lang semi-transparent windbreaker and the zipper (which is riri) is stiff and unwieldy and feels like crap. Same on a pair of KVA pants I have, and all the Dsquared outerwear I've handled (don't know which zipper manufacturers they use though).

[uzairh]

Best zippers I have handled are Lampos on my Dior jackets of old.

Even the 2-way Lampo works smoothly. The 2-way YKK on my Julius took a bit of effort to get going.

Even within the same brand, it seems there are differences in quality. For instance, the YKKs on the D&G jacket I am selling work flawlessly. YKKs on other stuff I have handled, not so much...

[Guest Phrost]

^ there are different gauges n grades of zippers

bad zippers can ruin a piece of clothing

one of the worst ones i've handled are opti brand. raf uses it on his past n present outerwear n pants. they feel like cheap soda tabs n slide like shit

some ykk zippers are great. the brass? universal branded ykk zipper on uniqlo vintage chinos is sturdy n works flawlessly

i don't like the italian RY? rick owens zippers. the pull tab is too heavy n clunky n the slide gets snagged sometimes

manifestchaos old n new helmut (especially new) primarily uses lampo zippers n ykk. i never had a problem with riris though

[Leonard Leroy]

I wanna replace my perfecto's zippers with vintage conmar or talons

[newaesthetic]

the ykk double-zip on my geller hoodie requires a special touch to separate if the bottom zipper is anywhere other than the bottom. every other aspect works fine, but because of that, I almost always leave it fully zipped from that end.

I've got a white riri on an old piqué apc hoodie that works great. better than their new stuff; ucan? it looks and feels like cheap wal-mart shit.

[M4TM]

i like riri.

[emixam]

the ykk double-zip on my geller hoodie requires a special touch to separate if the bottom zipper is anywhere other than the bottom. .

I have the same problem with the YKK double zipper on my Geller Cadet leather jacket. Moreover the black paint of the puller faded in no time - looks bad now.

[newaesthetic]

I don't have the problem with the paint since they used a unique pull for the top head. Basically looks like a paper clip with a small strip of leather on it. The buttons on the cuffs scratched up a lot though, but I think it looks better.

[dismalfuture]

i don't like the italian RY? rick owens zippers. the pull tab is too heavy n clunky n the slide gets snagged sometimes

What is this brand? Rick uses it, Ann Demeulemeester will use it and then maybe throw in a random YKK on the same garment or bag, and now APC uses them (a real shame considering they used Riri for the longest time).... it's a terrible zipper and I see them fail time and time again. I think the consumer has the right to demand the $5 upgrade to a better zipper, when it comes to a $2000 Ann D leather duffle or $1800 nylon Rick Owens jacket. Really. Most any generic zipper on the market is just as good as this brand, if not better.

YKK makes something like 90% of the world's zippers. They make everything, so it's not fair to say YKK is good or bad, there's good ones that are really expensive and made in Japan, and cheap ones made in Indonesia, wherever else.

Riris are good, but they're expensive as fuck. Good luck finding the old American zippers. Lampos are pretty nice from what I've seen and I like the classic Draht wire pulls as Riri does, they're just nicer looking IMO.

I love the MRS zippers on my MMM leather, but I've never found a single bit of information on the company.

[kunk75]

both my rick jackets are riri. i say riri ftw.

[dismalfuture]

Also, when it comes zippers that are losing their smoothness, don't use oil, you will just stain your clothes. Use a white kitchen candle, rub it up and down the zipper front and back, and then just keep sliding the pull up and down, it should do the trick.

[uzairh]

I have a couple of MMM bags thats have a really smooth zipper. All it says is 'ZIP Italy' on the back. Anyone heard or know of this brand?

[NickBaileyKnows]

both my rick jackets are riri. i say riri ftw.

Totally agree.

[Seething Tortoise]

Fucking love garments with riri zips, they just right.

Not quite the same as high end shits, but the zippers on my kit bags for gym, sports and stuff always fucking suck (for obvious reasons), they're like the cheapest of the cheap and nearly always dethread. Shit pisses me off. I'd change the zip, but I don't know how, and it's not worth it for a kitbag.

[Tyro1]

I dont mind the super RY zips rick uses. they arent the smoothest zips in the world, but they look right on his pieces, plus they dont feel like they are going to break.

[poly800rock]

the lampo's wings and horns used a few seasons ago were fucking money. then they went to worse riri's (than they had previously had) and now ideal(?). wtf wings and horns?

[Vampyrvargfesten]

^fuck ideal.. really?

that is walmart status :eek:

[nicelynice]

yeah 2008 f/w Geller zippers had some problems, what a weird oversight on a good season with YKK zips..