Yves Saint Laurent exhibit coming soon to SAM

Tickets go on sale Wednesday, August 3, at Seattle Art Museum for “Yves Saint Laurent: The Perfection of Style,” a major retrospective of the designer’s life and work. Its 110 outfits on display will include garments from Saint Laurent’s years as a very young designer at the House of Dior, and later work from his couture house. Among the latter: the clean-lined Mondrian shift dress, inspired by the designs of the Dutch painter; the women’s tuxedo (called ‘Le Smoking,’ it revolutionized womenswear at a time when many restaurants still required women to wear skirts); and a colorful assortment of evening gowns. SAM, which entered the fashion-as-art realm in 2013 with the gorgeous Japanese exhibit “Future Beauty,” will present “YSL” October 11 through January 8, 2017;  advance tickets (the museum notes that “gallery capacity is lower than normal for this show” and busy days may sell out) are available online as of the 3rd.