Designer Kara Laricks Wins NBC's Fashion Star - Round Up of her Killer Designs

NBC’s hit fashion competition series Fashion Star has named out designer Kara Laricks as the next big brand in fashion! As the winner of Fashion Star Season 1, three of the country’s largest retailers – Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s and H&M – purchased $6 million of capsule collection designs from Kara.

NBC’s hit fashion competition series Fashion Star has named out designer Kara Laricks as the next big brand in fashion! As the winner of Fashion Star Season 1, three of the country’s largest retailers – Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s and H&M – purchased $6 million of capsule collection designs from Kara.

Before Kara entered the Fashion Star competition, she was a fourth grade teacher who left her job to work as a fashion designer. Throughout the competition she wanted to show her former students that you really can be whoever you want to be, and its ok to be yourself. In one episode she admitted her regret that she was not an "out gay, proud role model" for her students. Kara showed that she is proud of who she is during the entire season, and we admire her for that!

Each episode of the show featured a different challenge for the designers, as one of the original 14 designers was sent home each week for eight weeks. During week nine, three of the final six designers were eliminated, leaving Kara, Nzimiro Oputa and Ronnie Escalante as the Season 1 finalists.

Here is a round up of the amazing designs Kara put down the runway each week:

In the pilot episode, Kara opted to send only an accessory – her collar-tie made from parts of a men’s collared shirt – down the runway. It was a risky move, and she did not receive any sales from the buyers, and was up for elimination as a result. The three mentors, Nicole Richie, John Varvatos and Jessica Simpson, saved her from going home.

In the second episode, “Who’s Your Customer,” Kara was determined to proved she wasn’t a “one-trick pony,” as Saks buyer Terron Schaefer wondered in the pilot. The designers were challenged to design clothes with a regular consumer in mind and get feedback from a “real” customer. Kara came up with a drape-tie dress that really impressed mentor John Varvatos and the buyers. H&M’s Nicole Christie bid $50,000, and Terron bid $80,000, which started a bidding war for the dress. In the end, Terron won with a bid of $110,000 to sell the dress at Saks.

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