Earlier this week we ran a Q&A with Nadia Plesner, the Danish art student embroiled in a copyright lawsuit with Louis Vuitton. She created an image depicting a Darfurian child holding a bag based on a Louis Vuitton design for a campaign to raise awareness of the ongoing genocide in Darfur. Her message is that we care more about items like the Vuitton purse and the celebrities that carry them than serious issues like Darfur. Today a spokeswoman from Louis Vuitton rang us up to offer their side of the story.

She said the fashion house initially did not ask for damages when it noticed the colors and design of the bag in Plesner's painting appeared to be an exact copy of the Audra bag pictured above. They sent Plesner a letter asking her to respect the rights of other artists like Louis Vuitton creative director Marc Jacobs and artist Takashi Murakami, who designed the bag. Plesner didn't respond to the letter but continued her campaign and posted the letter on her Website. The spokeswoman also noted when Plesner started the campaign, she was donating 30 percent of the profits from the sale of T-shirts and posters with the image (now her Website says she's donating 100 percent of the profits).

Since Plesner didn't respond to Louis Vuitton, the house went to court in Paris to file an injunction. On March 25 the court declared the image was a clear infringement of Louis Vuitton's copyright on the bag and ordered Plesner to cease and desist. When Plesner ignored this injunction, Louis Vuitton took further action and asked for 5,000 euros for each day she continued to sell the product (just under $7,700; some erroneous reports say $20,000 a day). "If companies don’t take action to protect trademarks, it’s harder to do so in the future," the spokeswoman said. "I just think the way she’s portraying this she’s not telling what Louis Vuitton did to prevent the lawsuit."

She added Louis Vuitton is not trying to stop Plesner's campaign and hopes to find a solution to allow it to continue without infringing on Louis Vuitton's intellectual-property rights.

Related: Art Student Nadia Plesner's Giant Louis Vuitton Copyright Suit

You miss Fashion Week, don't you? We see your loss and raise you pining, dear readers. But let us set our collective misery aside, for a cure has arrived. Yes, New York Look's fall '08 issue is now online in full with a couple of Web-only extras. It documents the merry mayhem of the fall '08 season. In a Q&A Karl Lagerfeld tells Harriett Mays Powell, "I love the Olsen twins. But 'celebrities' I don’t know well, I prefer not to see them in the studio before the show." Amy Larocca explains why L'Wren Scott's show is the most elegant on the calendar. In an exclusive online Q&A Chanel Iman tells Kendall Herbst, "I'm grateful to look the way I do. However, if I could change anything, I would like to be a bit bigger all over." Emma Rosenblum goes behind the scenes of a Fashion Week casting call and collects judgments on all the girls who tried out. And our Fug Girls weigh in on the batch of celebrities that shouldn't have sat in the front rows.

And then there's Chris Anderson's photo documentary of the shows from New York to Paris in 34 amazing images. One of our favorite moments from Look is above: Anna Wintour and Karl Lagerfeld get chummy a short ways down from 17-year-old model Ali Stephens's mom. Could you imagine if that were your mom? Or if that were you? We know we'd die.

New York Look: Fall 2008 [NYM]

Yesterday we learned Nina Garcia will likely accept a major position at Marie Claire. But what would this mean for her judgeship on Project Runway? Elle is the sponsoring magazine of the show for only one more season, its last on Bravo before it moves to Lifetime, and Marie Claire will take its place after the network switch. But what if Garcia moves to Marie Claire before or during season five, which starts taping next month, and the network switch? Elle could be screwed, that's what. Jeff Bercovici at Portfolio reports Elle has already sold gobs of ad inventory based on the assumption Garcia would be their editor-at-large and a judge on the show. The magazine doesn't want to give up its sponsorship for season five, but if Garcia is sitting as a judge while on the Marie Claire masthead during that time, things are going to get messy. And of course, nobody has any idea what the hell to do then. Good times!

Will 'Runway' Ditch 'Elle' Before New Season? [Mixed Media/Portfolio]
Related: Breaking: Nina Garcia Heading to ‘Marie Claire’

Oh meatpacking district, how we loathe and love ye! A spring afternoon of shopping in your Diane Von Furstenberg and Yigal Azrouël boutiques can be so lovely, yet your midnight hour coughs up a drunken trove of self-important interlopers that sends us running with tears streaming down our face. That confused ambivalence continues today as we learn that while increasing rents are forcing BBQ restaurant Hog Pit and the venerable French bistro Florent to close, fashion companies are nonetheless moving in. A Steve Madden store will open in the Hog Pit space after it closes on January 19. It's unknown who will move into the Florent space, but Karen Bellantoni, an executive at a real-estate company specializing in retail spaces, said "some serious fashion tenants" have eyes on the meatpacking district, including Bloomingdale's and Barneys.

"Florent, of course, is history," said Bellantoni. "It's like the Second Avenue Deli." But she said there are still good restaurants in the neighborhood, citing Buddakan and Del Posto. As for the popularity of the Meatpacking District, "We've just scratched the surface," she said. "Wait until the High Line opens. I don't think you're going to start to see a whole bunch of chains because they require subway service and pedestrian traffic." Felisa Dell, co-owner of The Hog Pit, has a slightly different point of view. "It started with Jeffrey New York," she said. "Jeffrey was a destination. He was really a pioneer in terms of the [collections] he had. My feeling on [Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen] is that they're basically giant advertisements. " As for Steve, which will take over The Hog Pit after it closes on Jan. 19, Dell said, "I'm actually kind of happy. Everything around here is so chi-chi."

Now BBQ and fashionistas don't normally run in the same circles (except for those who hail from Texas). But Florent is part of history, and we're sad to see it go. And places like Buddakan and Del Posto, whose grandiosity somewhat scares us, don't qualify as adequate Florent replacements. Even we have a tough time imagining a fashion company fabulous enough to take over the space.

Meatpacking District in Flux [WWD]

Yes, it looks like she shan't be unemployed much longer. According to Fashion Week Daily, Nina Garcia is thisclose to landing a major position at Marie Claire. So at last the puzzle has been completed! Let's review its pieces, shall we? Garcia was spotted leaving the Hearst building earlier this month to frenzied speculation she might wind up at one of its titles. Garcia's judgeship on Project Runway hangs in the balance since she's no longer at Elle, which will sponsor the show through the next season, its last on Bravo. Marie Claire will reportedly take over as sponsor once the show moves to Lifetime, thus allowing Garcia to reign as queen bee to all things TV fashion. We can't wait to see what she does with Marie Claire, since the title's not exactly heralded for its fashion coverage. It will be similarly interesting to see what happens to Elle's fashion coverage in Garcia's absence.

Now we just need to figure out how she'll get that judge's seat for the next season of Runway, airing this summer. Harvey Weinstein really wants her there, but if she's not at Elle, can they make it happen? Okay, so maybe the puzzle's almost completed. Gosh, this is like fashion Clue, isn't it?

Nina Garcia to Go From Hachette to … Hachette? [Fashion Week Daily]

A documentary about Valentino Garavani called Valentino: The Last Emperor will premiere at Cannes Film Festival this month. We've been craving a fashion flick since Lagerfeld Confidential came out last year. It's tough to hold a candle to the Kaiser's iPods, rings, and general manner of existing, but the Valentino doc sounds promising. André Leon Talley makes a cameo, and it includes some dramatic bits that unfolded when Alessandra Facchinetti took over the label after VaVa retired earlier this year. Director Matt Tyrnauer, Vanity Fair's editor-at-large and the author of Valentino Garavani: Una Grande Storia Italiana, spilled a few more details to Fashion Week Daily:

"He and Giancarlo [Giammetti] maintained a certain level of Italian elegance and style-you know, three meals a day with waiters with white gloves, for example. The boats in the summer, the skiing in the winter...it's a kind of ultra moda couture lifestyle that might have been much more common 50 years ago, when there were Italian playboys personified by Agnelli," Tyrnauer told The Daily. "But they have upheld that tradition and done it in the most extraordinary way. To see that from the inside was pretty amazing."

We can't wait to ogle such a fancy lifestyle, seeing as ours consists mainly of spooning peanut butter straight from the jar. (Don't judge, you know you do it too.)

Après Moi, la Déluge [Fashion Week Daily]

You know how wack it is that so few non-white models are cast for photo spreads and runway shows? And how the general standard of beauty often makes women feel bad about themselves? Well, Lindsay Lohan could ameliorate both those problems, just a tad at least. Tomorrow she's shooting the ads for her new line of lovely leggings and the casting call for models asks for girls with "diverse multi-cultural looks" and "off beauty." And here we were expecting LiLo to cast herself in the campaign (you know, for the obvious business reasons). But not only is she leaving her legging-clad self out of the ads, she's leaving out girls who look like her too, as the call also specified "no blondes please." It all sounded so revolutionary and wonderful! Until we learned she's not paying the models. The girl's had all sorts of interesting new roles — certainly she must be able to spare a few Gs for her pretty laborers. Besides, it's probably emotionally easier for her to part with cash than a bundle of free leggings.

LINDSAY LOHAN - LOHAN CASTS MODELS FOR NEW FASHION LINE [Contactmusic.com]
Related: Lindsay Lohan to Launch Legging Line

Today is a dark day for fashion, as we must report that Perez Hilton is launching a clothing line. Of course, the line's for Hot Topic (gossip — hot topics — get it?!). Creatively titled "Perez Hilton For Hot Topic," it will include Perezcious Pink and Gossip Gangster flip-flops and range in price from $2 to $50. You know, $50 really is a steal for blog-themed flip-flops. Apparently this project is just one of Perez's many well-thought-out decisions:

“It seems natural to make products that my readers will love and hopefully some guys will rock it too,” Perez said in a statement on Tuesday. “Some people might even call me a perfectionist, well that person would be me! I’m very passionate about my brand. I have extremely high standards and I like to get my hands dirty!”

“I’m most excited to finally see on the shelves products that are good and affordable for my readers. I actively sought out Hot Topic for that reason.”

“I keep seeing these lines from the likes of Lauren Conrad and Heidi Montag that give me nightmares,” he says. “My brand will be very conscious of my audience.”

So he's making up for others' sins by giving us nightmares? How democratic of him. Night terrors for all!

Perez Hilton Clothing Line: “Perez Hilton For Hot Topic” [Pop Crunch]

• A tipster tells us an army of hairdressers infiltrated the Vogue offices on Monday afternoon to coif the Voguettes for the ball. But the hair dryers kept blowing a fuse and shorting out the lights in one area of the office. Just imagine, friends, if you were trying to do work at Vogue on Monday and your lights kept going out because your officemates were getting their hair done for the fabulous ball you weren't allowed to attend. Let's hope those poor souls had their own party.

• Though we saw Mary J. Blige on the red carpet dressed in Michael Kors around eight o'clock, another Cut spy spotted her sipping a martini at the Waverly Inn with friends around ten Monday night, which means she didn't stay for dinner. She did change out of her gown but couldn't bear to shed her gala jewels. Then again, someone had to bling out the Inn when all of its usual residents were still uptown.

• The New York Post reports Christina Ricci didn't stay for dinner either. Though her Givenchy gown was one of the most admired of the night, she left immediately when she learned Anna Wintour didn't seat her with her boyfriend, Kick Gurry. What a waste of gussying up.

The paparazzi driving in confused circles means Lindsay Lohan must be off the streets! LiLo's currently filming the season finale of Ugly Betty, and photos from the shoot are up. We were hoping we'd be in for a mini-version of Mean Girls, and it looks like ABC's deliverin'. Here we see a flashback of LiLo bullying Betty in high school, with precisely the nasty glare in her eye we've been waiting for. Even better, Lohan's character will supposedly work at a fast-food restaurant. So not only do we get to see Lindsay act like a bitch, we might get to see her dunking fries and flipping burgers too. We never would have predicted this show would become so awesome. Thank God Posh Spice set a precedent with her guest spot. And very seldom do we thank God for Posh.

Lindsay Lohan on Ugly Betty — FIRST PICTURES [Just Jared]
Related: Latest Guest Star on ‘Ugly Betty’: Lindsay Lohan