From Tokyo to London: The YKK Fastening Awards are coming to the UK
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The YKK London Showroom is proud to announce a special window display in collaboration with YKK Japan, showcasing the winning works of the annual YKK Japan Fastening Awards to celebrate the 25th anniversary. The exhibition will be on view at YKK London Showroom, 154 Commercial Street, Shoreditch, E1 6NU, from 3 March 2026.
Established in 2001, the YKK Fastening Awards rank among Japan's largest student fashion design competitions, challenging young creators to transform fastening products (from zippers to snap buttons) into bold, wearable innovations. With over 147,000 entries to date, the awards celebrate originality, craftsmanship, and the spirit of "Japan Original" design.
Celebrating 25 Years of Young Creative Talent
To mark the milestone 25th anniversary of the awards, this year's London showcase will be accompanied by a special archive collection reflecting on a quarter century of the competition's history. Selected winners from the anniversary edition will also travel to London, offering visitors a rare opportunity to meet the designers behind the work.
YKK President Koichi Matsushima commented: “Last year, YKK celebrated the 90th anniversary of its founding, and going forward, we aim to celebrate our 100th and 150th anniversaries. We have also built up the YKK Fastening Awards over the past 25 years, with the hope of making contributions to the development of Japan's fashion industry. We will look ahead to celebrating their next 50th anniversary.”
Reimagining Fastening as a Design Statement
The YKK Fastening Awards are globally unique in their approach: all entries must incorporate YKK zippers, buckles, hook and loop fasteners, or snaps and buttons as essential design elements. Work is judged across four criteria (design, functionality, originality, and level of polish), pushing students to develop deep material understanding through direct dialogue with YKK staff via a dedicated mentoring system.
This year's winning works on display includes eleven exceptional pieces that demonstrate the breadth of creative possibility within fastening:
Rucksack Dress | Yoshihiko Ishibashi
A backpack that transforms into a dress through the innovative use of New Design Series buckles, with a unified black palette creating a chic, boundary-blurring expression between fashion and function.
BACK BONE PACK | Ono Hajime
Inspired by the human skeleton, this bag uses lightweight buckles and EXCELLA® to allow fluid, bone-like movement across three cylindrical components.
Athena | Miho Taniguchi
Asymmetrical boots inspired by armour, using EXCELLA® and rivets to express modern femininity through intelligence and strength.
ACCEPTANCE | Mikuri Ota
By fastening certain sections with plastic buckles while leaving others unfastened, a sense of “play” is created between each part.
shutter speed | Moe Nakashima
A hat that can be worn in separate parts, torn apart by a NATULON® metal zipper, inspired by long-exposure city photography where light fractures the urban landscape.
Circle Zip | Motohiro Matsui
Using EVERBRIGHT® and tack buttons to connect circles with a zipper, this piece evokes the traditional Japanese aesthetic of borrowed scenery.
INSIDE | Cheng Chen Fu
Exploring the inner structure as a form of beauty, using METALUXE® Tough and tack buttons to examine the relationship between exterior and interior support.
The Birth | Asahi Nishino
A sphere sits atop a ring, and when its zipper is opened, a tiny sprout emerges, as if born from a flower bud.
Re Tree | Kanade Konno
A garment with tree-like longevity. It combines knitted fabrics and zippers to express furrows that evoke the vitality of a tree. NATULON Plus® coil zippers and PERMEX® allow partial repair and replacement over time.
ATTACHMENT | Ryotaro Torii
Shoes that challenge the relationship between body and object, using EXCELLA® and tack buttons to explore the desire to wear something regardless of fit.
Umbrella for shoes | Haruki Hijikata, Yuma Hosokawa
Based on the idea of an “umbrella for shoes,” a pocket was added to the instep to provide protection during sudden rain, allowing a compact raincoat to be pulled out when needed.
Event Details
- Exhibition: YKK Japan Fastening Awards Window Display
- Date: 3 March 2026
- Venue: YKK London Showroom, 154 Commercial Street, Shoreditch, London, E1 6NU
- Booking: Spaces are limited. Please email londonshowroom.yeu@ykk.com to book.
- 154 Commercial Street, Shoreditch, London, E1 6NU
About YKK London Showroom
YKK London Showroom is located at 154 Commercial Street, Shoreditch, London, E1 6NU. The showroom serves as a hub for the UK fashion industry, showcasing YKK's global range of fastening solutions and fostering connections between YKK's Japanese heritage and the UK's creative communities.
About the YKK Fastening Awards
The YKK Fastening Awards, established in 2001, are one of Japan's largest and most acclaimed student fashion design competitions. The awards require the use of YKK fastening materials as design components, and challenge students to develop work judged on design, functionality, originality, and craftsmanship. With a mentoring system offering direct engagement with YKK staff, and feedback from leading industry figures, the awards have launched the careers of numerous emerging designers. To date, the competition has received a cumulative total of 147,304 entries.