Bare Your Teeth

This season designers are showing you how it all comes together, and it is tooth by tooth with exposed zippers. The back zip of your dress, the t-strap of your heel, your bags, even your necklaces are all adorned with metallic fastening hard wear. Not something to be hidden anymore, the zipper has found its way into chic eveningwear as much as casual wear. So this Fall, zip up to stay warm.

Y.K.Chaos

It was in the winter of this year that the current crown prince of high fashion introduced us to the possibilities of the zipper. London’s enfant terrible Gareth Pugh sent Coco Rocha stomping down the runway of his Fall 08 show in a samurai-inspired dress made entirely of zippers. Each zipper was sewed tape-to-tape to create a truly magnificent (albeit impractical) creation.

Zip Drive

The trend has carried through is many subtler ways to your footwear. Like the exposed zippers running the back length of your chunky high boots. Your essential t-strap heels have a flashy gold zipper running up the front. The functionless zipper is a common trend in footwear. Taryn Rose’s now famous “Bridger” ballet flat with a rose detail made of zipper tape is seen on the feet of the fashion elite. But it is the Christian Louboutin “Rhodita” ($835 net-a-porter.com) stiletto that will have heads turning. The zipper is just for show and absolutely perfect way to update the classic strappy black sandal.

Zip It Up

If zippered clothing and shoes are too daring for you, perhaps you could adopt the style in your accessories. Zipper is used in a way that function is irrelevant. The form that a zipper creates is the important thing. The Yves Saint Laurent zipper clutch ($1,595, ysl.com) fits with Stephano Pilati’s manifesto. It is decontextualized clothing at its height: a zipper for the sake of a zipper.