YKK, our partner for ITS ACCESSORIES since its inception in 2006, is an international group of companies with a leading position in the fastening industry. This literally means that 9 out of 10 fastenings in your wardrobe are from YKK. Without counting the snaps, cosmolon hook & loop and buttons on your bags and on any technical gear you might have…
Up until now YKK did not have a physical platform or an e-commerce website where an individual client could go to view & purchase directly the latest fastening range. One would have to get in touch with the company first, which would then assign a representative to guide the customer through the various lines and place the order. Very practical on a business to business level but less if you’re looking for a single zip that fits your needs. The YKK London Showroom is precisely intended to fill in this gap, especially for fashion students and young emerging designers. It is this, and much more.

The showroom – based in the heart of Shoreditch at 154 Commercial Street – offers a hub for young designers to discover their latest products, receive feedback from the YKK specialised staff as well as access machinery to affix particular fastenings. More importantly, it is an exhibition space to discover the most exciting, inspiring and innovative fastening uses, since it displays ITS finalists projects developed throughout the last 10 years.

YKK Consultant Kei Kagami played a unique role in the development of the Showroom. Trained in architecture before working with celebrated architect Kenzo Tange, he designed the entire space giving it an industrial and raw aesthetic as a reflection of YKK’s identity. “People have a certain impression of YKK as something very industrial” rightly says Kei, “and what’s wrong with that? My idea was that we should be proud of our industrial nature and we should push that identity.” Inspired by a metal factory, Kei filled the place with perforated metal shutters, movable glass cabinets suspended by crane-like steel rods, providing that general look – the iron and rusty colours, the bolts, the iron girders – one would experience in an actual factory.

Designers now have a place where they can discover all the latest innovations in fastenings, be inspired by the creativity of the ITS finalists projects, receive technical as well as mounting support by YKK staff and finally purchase the products they need. The YKK London Showroom will also see a calendar of exhibitions so we recommend you follow it on their website and especially on their social channels for all updates:
website: ykklondonshowroom.com
Instagram: @ykklondonshowroom
Linkedin: YKK London Showroom
The YKK London Showroom Opening Times are as follows:
Monday: Closed
Tuesday – Friday: 10am – 6pm
Saturday: 11am – 5pm
If you would like to arrange a meeting with a member of the Showroom Team, please contact YKK at the following phone number or email address:
phone: 0044 020 7 448 1331
email: londonshowroom@ykkeurope.com
Other articles:
The Seismographer
Teaching creativity. Interview with Ike Rust, menswear tutor to former ITS winners.
13 February, 2023
In the twenty years of ITS Contest rarely have we seen such consistency in training young designers that would be then be selected as finalists by the ITS Jury, a first…
The Seismographer
ITS Contest names that ring a bell.
Craig Green, David Koma, Liam Fahy and Lee Matthews in the ITS Arcademy Collection.
12 January, 2023
In the history of contemporary fashion, documented through the perspective of the ITS Arcademy Collection, there are designers who made history. Interestingly, it’s not always names that made it through to…
The Seismographer
One Collection, infinite stories: Religion. Looking at the religious elements of the ITS Arcademy collection.
05 December, 2022
Looking for either controversy, beauty, culture or symbolism, it is no mystery why fashion drives inspiration from religion. They are undeniably intertwined: religions and religious orders have dress codes and use…
The Seismographer
Handling the History of Contemporary Fashion Evolution. Interview with the head of our Collection team, in charge of handling the ITS Foundation’s archival patrimony.
04 December, 2022
Stepping into a museum space can often feel like everything’s stuck in time, frozen. As if it were a place where not much happens, other than cleaning and occasional moving of…
The Seismographer
ITS Finalists nominated at The Fashion Awards 2022. Demna, Matthieu Blazy and Chopova Lowena among the nominees of the Oscars of Fashion.
28 November, 2022
Assigned annually in London by the British Fashion Council, The Fashion Awards might seem like they’ve only existed since Craig Green won Designer of the Year in 2016. But the ceremony…
The Seismographer
Sketching, the Aitor Throup way.
A chat about drawing as a daily therapy with ITS 2006 winner Aitor Throup.
15 November, 2022
“Aitor Throup is an Argentinian-born British artist, designer and creative director.” This is the only sentence that sounds vaguely complete about what Aitor is. All attempts to pin down every aspect…