Saint Louis born designer Laura Kathleen Baker attended Western Kentucky University where she earned a bachelors degree in Design, Merchandising, and Textiles. “LK” also studied fashion design at Academia Italiana in Florence Italy. After working in the industry in Manhattan and Nashville Laura Kathleen was cast on season 9 of Project Runway and competed as a top 5 finalist on the runway at Mercedes Benz Fashion week. After PR season 9, Laura had the opportunity to compete on Project Runway All-Stars Season 2 where she finished in the top 6. Laura has casted the new designers on seasons 10-13 with Lifetime and has been the commentary on the Road to the Runway.

17 years ago, Laura Kathleen began a fashion program at Lift for Life Academy in Saint Louis. This is when the Celebrating Success Gala was founded and is now the school's largest fundraiser. In 2015, Laura became an adjunct professor at Washington University. In 2019, Laura Kathleen was the co-chair for the inaugural event Threads with the Missouri History Museum. This bi-annual celebration recognizes the museums work of collecting and curating one of the largest fashion archives in North America. The collection exceeds 18,000 pieces.

Laura Kathleen now lives in Kansas City with her husband Danny. They enjoy raising their two daughters, traveling, automotive racing, and working their Belgian Malinois named Taz.