Contact :
Abba Al Meftah
koi Marketing Group
(310) 828-0055 ext. 218
info@koihappiness.com

Kathy Peterson
Founder and President, koi design, LLC

Founder and Designer-in-Chief of koi design, LLC (koi), Kathy Peterson, a 15-year fashion industry veteran, started the company in 2006 with the vision that she could apply her multi-faceted design experience to a much under-served and little noted apparel niche - medical apparel or, as it is commonly called, the scrubs industry. Her new designer scrubs company; would offer stylish, design savvy and functional medical apparel to professionals anxious for a fashionable change, but unwilling to sacrifice functionality.

In five short years, Kathy has grown her company from a small start-up to one that produces multi-year collections for both men and women, distributed in over 1000 retailers, worldwide. Today, koi has amassed a large loyal following and is recognized as the "Home of Designer Scrubs™."

Kathy began her extensive career as a designer with the fashion house of Carole Little. Soon after, Kathy shifted her focus to designing for a younger audience and became a designer for Georges Marciano's GMsurf line. Under Marciano's mentorship, Kathy traveled around the world to gain insight into the fashion world - delving deeper into the research processes, learning how to recognize trends before they happen, and garnering an understanding of the business of marketing and sales vis-à-vis prospective buyers.

Following her work with Marciano, Kathy applied her creative eye designing for companies throughout the Los Angeles area, most notably, Jerry Leigh, a large licensing company where she gained valuable knowledge working with household name brands.

Armed with extensive knowledge of ready-to-wear design, licensing and the business of fashion, Kathy went to work for Barco Uniforms, where she honed her skill at creating branded apparel for major companies that appealed to large audiences. Kathy designed for Barco's identity division, which included uniforms for the restaurant and medical industries. It was at Barco that Kathy had a germ of an idea that would lead to establishing her own company. She noted that designs for medical uniforms generally lacked style were often ill-fitting and disproportionate. Kathy recognized the opportunity to create something new in the medical apparel industry, leading her to establish a company that offers fashion-forward designs for medical professionals.

Whereas most manufacturers saw design as an afterthought for scrubs, Kathy's vision for more vibrant colors and form-flattering designs in what had, to date, been dreary scrubs, laid the groundwork for koi's debut collection of women's designer scrubs - launched in 2007. This collection quickly struck a chord with fashion-starved medical professionals and propelled koi to rapid growth.

With the success of the women's line, Kathy expanded her signature designs to include men's apparel, introducing the first men's collection in 2009. The new line featured structured-fit pieces made specifically for men, a contrast to the "unisex" option offered by other companies.

koi's exponential growth in its first five years attests to Kathy's commitment to creating a new look for an apparel niche that was largely left unnoticed. Most recently, Kathy leveraged her entrepreneurial success and partnered with Mark Ecko Enterprises, launching the Ecko UNLTD. and Ecko Red collections of designer scrubs in Spring 2011.

A graduate of The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM), Kathy was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii and currently resides in Los Angeles.