Yves Saint Laurent Exhibit Opens in Montreal

In conjunction with the 40th anniversary of the house of Yves Saint Laurent, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is staging a major retrospective of the designer's creations, the first such show in 25 years. Open as of Thursday, the exhibition "develops the revolutionary nature of a body of work that has marked both the past and the present with a new definition of femininity and left a signature that transcends fashion." Pictured above is one of his most famous designs, the women's tuxedo known as "Le Smoking," as photographed by Helmut Newton in 1975.

The show is divided into four main themes: The Stroke of a Pencil, where "the designer's idea is followed from the original sketch"; The Yves Saint Laurent Revolution, where "feminized versions of men's attire rub shoulders with seductive apparel"; The Palette, which "shows how traditional rules of color harmony were reversed in new contrasts inspired by cross-fertilization"; and our favorite, Lyrical Sources, which "explores the historical, literary -- Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde, Louis Aragon, Jean Cocteau -- and artistic influences that were interpreted and translated by this genius of couture." The exhibition runs until Sept. 28 and then travels to San Francisco's de Young Museum.