I daresay Karim’s work lacks any kind of substance… i would hardly categorize him as a “role model”… unless you’re after the shallow trend-based crowds who gobble up his hot pink suits and chintzy BLOBjects like hotcakes. polypropelene sure is magical.
No, I actually don’t like his stuff. It’s too cheesy and “plastic”, no pun intended. 
I used him as an example of a designer who works for himself. If anything, If I had to choose a designer who I idolize, it was Charles Eames. A genius.
I don’t think Eames was an arrogant chap who talked down to people… he was actually quite modest from what I understand… always about research and developing new things, new ideas… not living on the laurels of a one-track focus like Karim does with his unoriginal mockeries of bastardized classics such as the Kareames.
there are many furniture designers i respect for different reasons. most none have ever heard of.
for instance, my previous employer owned his own consultancy, had been director of design for two international companies, was a war veteran, survived a deadly helicopter crash, survived cancer twice, and now is fighting Parkinson’s disease and cannot complete a simple sketch. he is probably still one of the sharpest designers i have ever met, yet his demeanor was so easy-going and his ego so small.