Kim opened her first retail store in the East Village of downtown New York in 1997. She collaborated with photographer David LaChapelle early in her career. She comes from a family of doctors who pressured her to become one as well, and "For the first six months, my parents absolutely didn't support me", she recalled in an interview in Marie Claire.^[3] Her hats can now be found in over 100 boutiques around the world, as well as high-end department stores such as Barneys New York, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Neiman Marcus. She is regularly featured in fashion publications such as Vogue, W Magazine, ELLE, and Harper's Bazaar. Notable wearers of her hats include Beyoncé Knowles, Charlize Theron, Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Gwyneth Paltrow, Drew Barrymore, Diane Kruger, Dakota Fanning Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kirsten Dunst, although Kim says she rarely recognizes celebrities other than by name.