[1] Kara Laricks was a fourth grade elementary school teacher for ten years before she quit to become a fashion designer.
She finds influence in Yamamoto's "minimalistic color palette and the avant garde cut of his designs.
[6] Laricks has described her design aesthetic as "modern-day Annie Hall meets a Japanese street style.
After presenting three capsule collections to buyers from H&M, Macy's and Saks Fifth Avenue, Jessica Simpson responded that Laricks challenged "every woman to step outside the box."
Rolling Stone credited the show with embracing an "unconventionial" designer and applauded the buyers, especially Macy's, for thinking outside the box and awarding Laricks.