YKK® Touchlink™ Fastener to be Featured Across ARTILECT’s F/W 2022 Collection

January 17, 2022

ARTILECT is First North American Brand to Adopt the Touchlink™ Zipper and First in the World to Integrate YKK’s New PU Conceal and User-Repairable Zippers

/OUTDOOR SPORTSWIRE/ – The new outdoor performance brand ARTILECT has adopted YKK’s Touchlink™ Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled zipper for its Fall/Winter 2022 line, deploying the technology on seventeen different styles for men and women.

With the adoption of Touchlink™ fasteners, ARTILECT aims to provide its consumers with richer user experiences and enhanced product functionality. With a tap of their smartphone on the Touchlink™ zipper, customers can access product information, register their warranty, get care instructions, and a host of other functions, including safety benefits offered by the Lifekey™ software platform.

 “ARTILECT is a brand founded on next-level innovation and technology. The ability to interact with our consumer before purchase, during use, and at the end of a product’s life is critical,” says Trent Bush, Founder of ARTILECT. “Many of the innovations in our apparel systems are invisible, and TouchLink™ zippers allow ARTILECT consumers to get a deeper understanding of the technology in their garment, as well as confirming the authenticity of the product they have purchased. We worked on the development of these specific TouchLink™ zippers for the last two years and are very excited to get them to market.”

In addition to giving access to important product information, the Touchlink™ fastener provides ARTILECT customers the ability to check in with family or friends before and after outdoor activities and even dispatch first responders in an emergency. These opt-in safety features powered by the Lifekey™ software platform can be triggered with a tap of a smartphone to the Touchlink™ zipper.

The Touchlink™ fastener is also helping ARTILECT achieve its circularity goals by making key information about the garment available to anyone with a smartphone, helping to facilitate garment resale, repair, and recycling. It eases the barriers that hinder these types of services due to lack of information.

“We see the Touchlink™ fastener not only as a portal for brands to provide their customers a unique brand experience unmatched by other technologies,” says Terry Tsukumo, Vice President of YKK’s Global Marketing Group, “but as an important component for offering new safety features and enabling new circular business models.”

One of the advantages of the technology used for YKK’s Touchlink™ fastener is its permanence and durability. The NFC chip is molded into the zipper puller, which completely encases it, making it highly resistant to moisture and breakage. “A zipper puller is very unlikely to be removed by consumers, unlike a care tag or label, and embedding the NFC chip in the puller gives it durable protection from washing or breakage,” explains Tsukumo.

Besides being the first US brand to use the Touchlink™ fastener, ARTILECT is also the world’s first brand to adopt two additional new YKK innovative products, a water repellent concealed zipper and a user-repairable detachable slider function. These two innovations allow ARTILECT to create sleek, weatherproof functional garments built to endure heavy use in challenging conditions. The concealed, water repellent zipper allows for protected ventilation, while the detachable slider function makes repairing broken zippers much easier.

“We have been working hand-in-hand with YKK on commercializing some of their latest innovations to take our performance and technology to the next level for our consumers and for the planet,” added Bush. “I am very excited about the new repairable zipper technology. With this YKK breakthrough, we can focus on self-repair by the user in the field, instead of having to take their apparel out of service and ship it back and forth just to replace a broken slider. This marks a huge leap forward in reduction of the overall carbon-footprint of the product lifecycle and ensures our customers can become part of the solution. I look forward to the next generation of zipper innovations that YKK is developing, and I’m proud that ARTILECT is leading in bringing them to market.”

The Touchlink™ fastener has been nominated as a finalist in the Outdoor Retailer 2022 Innovation Awards and will be featured on ARTILECT products displayed at the Outdoor Retailer Snow Show January 26^th through 28^th in Denver, Colorado.

About YKK

YKK solves the most complex fastening and attaching challenges. Since the company’s founding in Tokyo in 1934, YKK has continuously set industry standards for quality, innovation, and sustainability in the production of zippers, plastic hardware, hook and loop fasteners, webbing tapes, and snap and buttons. YKK’s “solutions-first” approach leverages its extensive product and machinery portfolio, engineering expertise, and integrated production, service, and supply chain solutions in 70+ countries/regions, leaving it well-positioned to support the growth of customers of all sizes and adapt to their evolving business needs. Guided by the CYCLE OF GOODNESS® philosophy – no one prospers without rendering benefit to others – YKK aims to contribute to a sustainable society through its products and manufacturing operations and constantly seeks new ways to serve the changing needs of its customers while at the same time investing in its employees and giving back to its communities. Discover more about YKK: https://www.ykkfastening.com/

Media contact:

Jessica Cork
YKK Corporation of America
jessicacork@ykk.com

About ARTILECT – Alive in the World

Equal parts art and intelligence, ARTILECT is an apparel studio shaped by a deep respect for the past with a laser-focus on the future. Born in Boulder, Colorado, we are a team of innovators and rule breakers driven by a relentless pursuit of progress, utilizing the most forward-looking, innovative technologies in materials, construction, and fit. We exist to create sustainable apparel systems that bring a higher level of performance for a new generation of intrepid explorers. Learn more at www.ARTILECT.STUDIO and join us on Instagram at @artilect.studio and @culturelines.

Media contact:  Matt Bennett
ECHOS Communications
matt@echoscomm.com

“YKK” and “CYCLE OF GOODNESS” are registered trademarks of YKK CORPORATION in Japan and other countries/regions.
“Touchlink” is a trademark of YKK CORPORATION
“Lifekey” is a registered trademark of Lifekey, LLC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY