For accessibility information on this site use accesskey "0"
Skip Navigation and go straight to the main content or use use accesskey "s"
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
In 1893, a Chicago engineer, Whitcomb L. Judson filed the first patent for a 'slide fastener'. This was initially too crude to be successful but was developed in 1913 by a Swede, Dr Gideon Sundback who attached the metal locking mechanism to a flexible backing. The zip acquired its modern name from novelist Gilbert Frankau in 1929 but it was not generally accepted for clothing until 1930 onwards.