Hart Schaffner Marx, the 123-year-old Chicago-based clothier best known for its sartorial style (and for suiting up President Obama), has been rediscovered, and in the process has made its own exciting discovery. After a tumultuous 2009 — which included a bankruptcy filing and new overseas owners — Joseph Abboud, a master of soft tailoring, has been placed at the helm as creative director to oversee the redesign of its roster of well-known brands, which include Hickey Freeman, Austin Reed and Bobby Jones. While mining the company archives for inspiration, he and his colleagues discovered a cache of valuable Maxfield Parrish paintings that had been used for Hickey Freeman advertisements.

The paintings by the fantastical neo-Classical master, which now adorn the walls of the company’s new New York showroom, feature small groupings of well-dressed gentlemen and ladies in stylish, period-perfect garb. These recently resurrected works provide a fitting backdrop for the beautifully reconceived American brand’s spring/summer 2011 collection. Might we see Abboud, paintings in tow, in a future episode of “Antiques Roadshow”? (T)

We’re so excited to be moving the (capsule) show to Chelsea—the heart of NYC’s vibrant art gallery scene– that we’ve decided to present an art show of our own. Other Spaces, a temporary exhibition of paintings, photography, sculpture, video and installation works, and the first curatorial venture by Jayne Drost, features seven New York-based independent artists– Palma Blank, Leah Dixon, Sam Falls, Left Coast, Daniel Turner, Timothy Uriah Steele,and Kristof Wickman– who use formal and material qualities of their work to create an internal or psychological experience for the viewer through a network of references.    Other Spaces gathers paintings, photography, sculpture, video and installation works by seven New York-based independent artists who assert the formal and material qualities of their work to propose a spatial montage—an internal or psychological experience for the viewer experienced as a network of references.

The exhibition is free and open to the public Monday thru Friday from 11AM-7pm.  Please stop by!

Other Spaces, Center 548, 548 West 22nd Street NYC

Information about each participating artist can be found after the jump.

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Fashionista reports that Purple’s Olivier Zahm is working on the first biographical book about Carine Roitfeld, set to be published by Rizzoli in the fall of 2011. With 2 of today’s most influential fashion editors collaborating on a project, we’re sure the book is going to be a must-have in every fashion library.

Six Items or Less: This “global experiment examining the power of what we don’t wear” may provide shopping addicts with a reason to strip their closets down to the bare necessities. Setting out to prove that it may be time, finally, to bid sayonara to that vintage purple seersucker three-piece suit or those sequined ankle boots that you’ve been saving “just in case” for the past 12 years, the Six Items or Less project was conceived with the intention of giving consumers a way to examine just how important (or not) a role clothing plays in their lives. The month-long project, which commenced on June 21st, invited people from around the globe to pledge to wear only six items of clothing for that month. (Undergarments, swim wear, work-out clothes, work uniforms, outer jackets, shoes and accessories are exceptions.) Nearly 100 people signed up. All participants are documenting their efforts in a blog portal hosted by Six Items or Less. Stay tuned to find out if less really is more. (Trendcentral)

Last night, Rootstein, the mannequin-making magic factory, hosted the opening of “Homme Nouveau,” their first line of male mannequins, Papermag reports. The very real-looking boy-equins were on the manorexic side and were created by Rootstein’s creative director Kevin Arpino, who was in town from London. The exhibit was dramatically lit and the mannequins (including some female ones) were dressed in Dior-inspired looks from elaborate Marie Antoinette-esque ball gowns to biker-chic for the guys. The heavily made-up crowd — think Kenny Kenny, Malik So Chic, designers David and Phillipe Blond, Gazelle, Patrick McDonald and real-life, legendary 1970s super-mannequin Pat Cleveland — fit right in…Manorexic male mannequins: an inspiration to get summer-skinny fast!

Richard Christiansen, founder of New York’, Chandelier Creative, has collaborated with Andy Spade and Anthony Sperduti of  Partner’s & Spade, to create the ultimate toy for boys– a five piece, 24 karat gold, limited edition toy soldier set. Each soldier is handmade, individually capturing a slightly different look and feel, so no two will be exactly the same.  In addition, they are all engaged in various activities – some are marching, some are standing guard, and others are taking pictures.  Accompanying the soldiers are four environmental props, also 24 karat gold, ranging from a chiseled brick wall and barrel that provide a safe place for cover, to a pile of debris that remains from battle.  Through adding these pieces to the set, Christiansen provides the means for one to fully envision the settings soldiers encounter on a daily basis. The limited edition sets, numbered to 100, will be available to purchase exclusively at Partner’s & Spade beginning June 20th.  In addition, a celebration will be held at Partner’s & Spade this Father’s Day, June 20, 2010.

The artisanal food scene is hotter than ever. The NYT reports: As the next generation of cooks comes of age, it seems that many might bypass restaurant kitchens altogether. Instead, they see themselves driving trucks full of artisanal cheese around the country, founding organic breweries, bartering vegan pâtés for grass-fed local beef, or (most often) making it big in baking as the next Magnolia Bakery.  Read all about it here.

Swedish designer Carin Wester has released an evocative new video for her AW10 collection.  According to a press release, the inspirations for the sensual black and white film include
” the heartbeat drum rhythm…the darkness…the brightness…the lonely guitar…the bodies…the skin…the fabric…the texture…the psychedelic layers…the eyes…the movement…the shape…the shade…the traveling lights…the unexplained patterns…the beauty…the erotic thought…the sex…” Check it out here.

The UK has long stood as a benchmark in the global creative sector. With some of the world’s leading architects, filmmakers, musicians and designers native to its shores, the UK is a hub of established and maturing creativity. Having produced some of the planet’s best designers, its fashion industry is at the forefront of this sector and in the wake of another successful London Fashion Week in February, Monocle investigates what has put it there in a video made for the UK Trade & Investment. Watch it here.