CHELSEA — The Fashion Institute of Technology is going retro.
A new show called Yves Saint Laurent + Halston opened Friday at the school's museum on West 27th Street. The exhibition will display 80 outfits, according to its website, reflecting the "shifting sands of style" of the 1970s.
Silk crepe pajamas, beaded evening caftans, a dress worn by Lauren Bacall and a woman's tuxedo are among the display items. Halston and Yves Saint Laurent were the preeminent designers of the era, according to the museum.
"While today they are considered diametrically opposed — Saint Laurent is viewed as the great colorist who imbued his clothes with a sense of drama and fantasy, while Halston is seen as the era’s master of modernism and minimalism — the aesthetic similarities between their designs during the 1970s, particularly at the start of the decade, are undeniable," the museum said in a release.
The two designers drew on menswear to create women's clothes, according to the museum, as well as exoticism and fashion history. FIT has the most comprehensive Halston archive in the world, according to its website.
Admission is free, and the museum is open Tuesday through Friday, noon to 8 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibit closes April 18.