Columbia Fashion Students Work With YKK on Real-World Design Challenge
Fashion Design BFA student Yasmine Karkouch presents her original garments created through a closure-focused project with global fastening leader YKK, using donated materials to develop both avant-garde and ready-to-wear designs shaped by real-world constraints and industry expectations.
Priscilla Oludaisi 
Nathaneal Batista
Destiny Robinson
Devin Tolbert (left) and Ayumi Hall (right), representatives from YKK.
Wylan Harris
Paloma MartinIn the School of Fashion’s Fashion Design Studio I course, students flipped the design process—treating the zipper not as a final detail, but as the foundation.
This semester, students in Columbia College Chicago’s highly selective Fashion Design BFA program partnered with global fastening leader YKK, a Japan-based global manufacturing company that produces about half of the world’s zippers, on a closure-focused project that embedded real materials, professional expectations, and industry engagement into the classroom. Working with donated materials, students developed both avant-garde and ready-to-wear designs shaped by the same constraints designers face in the field.
Industry in the Classroom
The collaboration launched with YKK regional manager Rachel DeBoer leading a “Zipper 101” session, introducing students to closure construction, applications, and technical considerations. Students then selected YKK components Project Runway–style, placing them in a professional scenario where availability, functionality, and feasibility drive design decisions.
Rather than serving as a one-time guest, YKK was embedded into the learning experience. Students designed with real hardware, real limitations, and the understanding that their work would be reviewed by industry professionals.
Designing for Movement, Structure, and Wearability
Over the course of the semester, students developed two complete looks: an experimental, avant-garde design and a ready-to-wear version that translated the concept into a functional garment. Throughout the process, students researched, sampled, made patterns, and revised—learning how closures affect structure, silhouette, movement, and wearability.
“For this project, everything depended on the zipper,” says Fashion Design BFA student Sam Altman. “It wasn’t decoration—it dictated structure, movement, and how the garment functioned.”
Students treated zippers as structural elements, modular components, and surface design—integrating them into seams, pleats, panels, and detachable features. The process demanded continuous problem-solving, from stabilizing sheer fabrics to managing the weight of hardware.
“Since I was working with sheer fabric, I had to be very thoughtful about where I placed the zipper so it wouldn’t rip or distort the garment,” says Fashion Design BFA student Emma Schmitt-Vallejo. “That decision really shaped the final design.”
Designing With Real-World Constraints
Because the materials were industry-donated and finite, students had to adapt as challenges emerged. Designs evolved through testing, iteration, and revision—mirroring the pace and pressure of professional product development.
“Working with real components forces students to think holistically about design,” says Lauren Peters, PhD, associate professor in the School of Fashion. “They’re not just creating a look—they’re learning how material choices, construction, and concept all have to work together in an industry context.”
Industry Engagement and Professional Feedback
The project concluded with YKK representatives attending final presentations and offering feedback rooted in construction and execution.
“Designing with industry partners pushes students to think beyond aesthetics and focus on how garments actually function in the world,” says Assistant Professor Jenny Leigh Du Puis, who co-taught the class.
That approach reflects Columbia’s commitment to fashion education grounded in industry partnerships—where students learn by working with real materials, real feedback, and real production challenges.