Fabric In Fashion, the latest from the Museum at FIT, could not be more different from the concurrent Pink (with its Jeremy Scott Barbie and pussy hat). More technical than many of the museum’s shows, and featuring more historical garments, Fabric In Fashion delves deeply into the mechanics of textiles and the history of silk, cotton, wool and synthetic fibers. While the focus is Western women’s fashion of the last 250 years, the story travels the globe, from the legendary Silk Road to the American south, where the international demand for cotton-fueled slavery’s devastating rise.

Videos on the basics of fibers and of weaves welcome the visitor, setting the tone for what feels in many ways like a primer on the importance of materials selection — for both designer and consumer. Careful pairings from the museum’s rich archives show the effects of the many invisible choices that go into a garment, including both fabric and how it is worked. The contrast of two green evening dresses, one Guy Laroche silk crêpe, the other Oscar de la Renta silk faille, is particularly effective.

Other highlights include a red and black Isabel Toledo taffeta “Hermaphrodite” dress, a 19th century pieced turn-over shawl from Kashmir — and insight into the true origins of a few very familiar fabrics. “With this exhibition, I wanted to break down some of the finer points of fibers and textiles to encourage people to take a closer look at the materials,” Elizabeth Way, curator of the show, shared.

Between detail-rich text and the beauty of the storied fabrics themselves, she seems likely to succeed.

Fabric In Fashion is on view at the Museum at FIT through May 4.