Heavy metal took on a whole new meaning Wednesday at Felissimo’s Accesorize your Passion for Fashion party when designer TK Nezca, inventor of the iridescent metal cord that shares his name, dropped by to demonstrate his innovative trimmings to a rapt audience. Nezca explained how he used traditional Japanese braiding techniques to embed thousands of Swarovski crystals into a piece of ordinary cord, catapulting it to brilliance. The resulting material (also called nezca) reflects light in all directions and is extremely flexible, both qualities that have made it prized by top designers. A dress from Yumi Katsura’s fall line TK was exhibited as an example of the bejeweled strands in practice. Though various accessories demonstrated nezca’s versatility, it was Ms. Katura’s short, gauzy black dress that stole the show.

Looking like body armor for the fashionably forward, I couldn’t help but wonder how long one could wear the dress before the gorgeous but weighty network of cords looping down the front was ripped away by gravity. Mr. Nezca, however, swiftly put my worries to rest. He explained that the nezca portion of the dress actually hangs from the neck—like a tangle of beads a giant might don for Mardi Gras. But no matter. Even if this dress creates a slight pain in your neck, the luminous response you’ll receive is well worth it. Check out all the other ways nezca is used through October at the Japan ^C exhibit.

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