As a clothing accessory material, zipper is one of the most common and common accessories in modern clothing. The application of zipper in clothing design With the improvement of people's living standards, people's consumption concept is changing. People's choice of clothing has changed from focusing on practicality in the past to pursuing fashion, fashion and novelty. The addition of more design elements makes today's clothing has become more colorful.
1. The types and characteristics of clothing zippers
The zipper was first produced in the mid-19th century. After more than a century of development, fashion with zippers as accessories began to prevail, and zippers began to slowly change from clothing accessories to design elements. It not only has more and more perfect functions, but is also endowed with certain symbolic features, forming a unique The cultural connotation has also become one of the design elements that designers love. There are various types of zippers, but their basic structure is the same, and they are all composed of tapes, fasteners, sliders, locking parts and other components. There are closed-ended, open-ended, and implicit forms. According to the material of the zipper, there are metal zipper, plastic zipper, nylon zipper, etc. The metal zipper with the longest history is divided into aluminum teeth zipper, copper teeth zipper, black teeth zipper, etc. due to the different metal materials selected for the teeth. The outstanding features of metal zippers are their strong fastness and strong metal texture, which can express A sense of power and wild beauty. There are also many product families of plastic zippers, such as translucent zippers. Nylon zipper is soft, smooth surface, bright color, there are invisible zipper, waterproof zipper and so on. When choosing a zipper for clothing, it should be selected according to the different properties of the zipper.
At a lunch meeting more than 80 years ago, a novelist named Franco promoted zipper samples to the people present. He gestured with his hand: "One pull, he opens, and another pull, and he closes!" It vividly illustrates the characteristics of the zipper. How to choose a zipper according to the requirements of clothing design To choose a zipper, you need to consider the compatibility with the main materials and styles of the clothing and the characteristics of the zipper. The following aspects can be considered:
(1) Select the zipper according to the size of the strength
(2) Design according to the material of the elements of the zipper. The material of the elements determines the shape of the zipper, especially the softness and feel, which will directly affect the compatibility and aesthetics of the zipper and clothing. For example, plastic zippers are suitable for fabrics. For thicker garments, the lightweight nylon zipper meets the requirements of thinning clothing fabrics, and the metal zipper is rough and unrestrained, which is especially suitable for denim clothing.
(3) The zipper is selected according to the style of the clothing. In the application of clothing design, the zipper of various materials is combined with the style of the clothing, and the positioning and selection are made according to the different fabrics, structures and colors. Closed-tail or side-by-side double-ended up and down zippers with metallic texture are mostly used for heavy textured denim and high-end fur clothing; open-ended right-inserted or open-ended left-inserted zippers are mostly used in the design of casual wear and sportswear; Double-headed and double-tailed zippers are mostly used in the design of children's clothing and special tooling; invisible zippers with a shy appearance are generally used in the design of women's skirts and trousers, including some small dresses, making the silhouette and lines of the clothing more concise. , smooth.
(4) Choose the zipper according to the color and decoration of the clothing. Considering the color coordination between the fabric and the accessories in the clothing design, it is necessary to choose the zipper that is consistent with the color of the fabric, so that the main material and the accessories have a seamless effect. . Sometimes in order to form a strong contrasting effect, different colors are used.
2. The application of zipper as a design element in clothing
The contact between zipper and clothing first began with military uniforms. With the development of the times, zippers are used more and more widely in clothing. In the world, 90% of fashion designers pay more attention to the function of zippers and the fashion of zippers to make them serve for fashion design. Therefore, with the diversity of styles, functions and aesthetics of clothing design, the matching zippers are also colorful and varied.
2.1 zipper. Beautiful lines
From the paintings of ancient Egypt, Babylon, India, Greece and the Mayan culture of the Americas, to the works of modern masters Picasso, Matisse, Klee, and Miro, all use lines as the basic language of modeling, thus creating infinitely amazing lines. It has rich expressive power. Through the change and combination of lines, it shows the beauty in the form of density, virtual reality, movement and stillness, rhythm, rigidity and softness, and harmony. Line is one of the indispensable modeling elements in clothing modeling, and zipper can often express the richest, most vivid and most vivid part of clothing visual language communication in the form of lines. The zipper builds a unique aesthetic function while enriching its use function. The production process of the zipper form is a manifestation of the law of the beauty of form, "move to form a line, and move a line to form a surface".
The change of line has always been an important means of clothing style design. Because the structure of the zipper itself has the visual characteristics of a rough and unrestrained line, the design of using the zipper to express the line has become the focus in clothing design. The zipper can also be properly used in the line of clothing. In order to emphasize the style of clothing and enrich the design language, the zipper is applied to the position of clothing dividing line and edge line, such as dart road, shoulder line, Yuke, etc. to strengthen the vision. Effect. It can also be used in the outer contour modeling line, editing line, pocket decoration line, etc., such as Chinese-American designer Phillip Lim, who rolled a zipper on the soft pleated lace, and the arc of the zipper became the skeleton of the lace, stiff and strong. texture.
In addition to the conventional structural line design, the line sense of the zipper can also be used to structure and reorganize the clothing to form an unconventional clothing effect. Hussein Karajan, known in the clothing industry as a "fashion genius", incorporates zippers into those wondrous structural designs.
2.2 The decorative beauty of zipper
The zipper appeared on the fashion stage as a decoration in the 1970s, and it can also play a certain decorative role in clothing. For example, the use of exaggerated zipper teeth as a divided decorative element on the clothing surface. Some accessories will also use the element of zipper. Generally, the preferred materials for accessories with zippers as elements are fashionable metal zippers. Metal zippers not only have unique luster, but also have the characteristics of softness and hardness, which can suit the needs of different shapes. In the 1970s, the "punk rocker" in the United States put zippers anywhere on the clothes in order to express their individuality with an unusual dress, hairstyle and make-up, and this may be the prototype of the modern zipper. . Today, the image of the "punk rocker" is still enduring in the fashion field. Many rebellious young people dream of having a wild motorcycle jacket decorated with multiple metal zippers, and the zipper has become the image of the "punk rocker". One of the most iconic languages.
Zippers with different colors and textures also create infinite possibilities for design. Use zippers for color design, such as using hard bronze metal zippers on denim fabrics, nostalgic metallic feeling and denim fabrics are the most classic color combinations, and the famous American Levi's denim is a typical example. One of the most noticeable changes in jeans over time is the use of zippers. The zipper replaces the traditional button, which not only brings unprecedented convenience, but also brings a new look and feel to denim clothing.
2.3 Use zippers to do clothing addition and subtraction
In many cases, in addition to the longitudinal division of the zipper, we can make the zipper into a dimensional division. For example, the circumference of the sleeves can be divided so that the clothing can be changed into long-sleeved, medium-sleeved or short-sleeved at will. There is also a direct use of a long zipper tape to turn it into a fashionable bag that can be carried around. The whole bag is connected by a whole zipper, with a unique and fashionable design. This design, called "magic zipper bag", cleverly uses the characteristics of zipper sealing and flexibility to achieve volume shaping and cleverly hide the volume.
Use the flexibility of the zipper to realize the functional design of the hidden volume. For example, in clothing design, the hoodie design is hidden in the stand-up collar structure, and the zipper on the back side of the collar is opened to reveal a foldable hat, and the volume of the clothing is extended. also. Use the zipper to design a "moving" hem, and the clothes can be long or short. Another example is the ever-changing zipper skirt designed by designer Sebastian Errazuriz. This skirt is inlaid with 120 zippers, each part can be disassembled, and the shape can be changed at will. As he himself puts it: "This zip-up dress can be turned into a dinner dress, a T-shirt or even a belt."