At Talbot Runhof's Paris boutique on the swish Rue d'Alger last month, one feather-light jacket stood on its own on a pedestal.

WSJ: Polyester Is Back in Style at Alexander Wang, Talbot Runhof, Akris

"A cotton shirt is a cotton shirt, " says Johnny Talbot, co-designer of the Munich-based Talbot Runhof label, best known for its red-carpet gowns.

WSJ: Polyester Is Back in Style at Alexander Wang, Talbot Runhof, Akris

Talbot Runhof also works with polypropylene, transparent acrylic and polyester georgette.

WSJ: Polyester Is Back in Style at Alexander Wang, Talbot Runhof, Akris

For the white Talbot-Runhof dress, a base fabric was embroidered with sequins, sewn to the dialysis-machine filter fabric and then bathed in a liquid that dissolved the base, leaving fringes of sequins attached to the filter-cum-dress.

WSJ: Polyester Is Back in Style at Alexander Wang, Talbot Runhof, Akris