By: “Fabric is like the engine of a car,” says Pamich. “You can have a car that’s red, maybe souped-up, two-seats, very sporty, but what’s really important is the quality of the engine, for us, the quality of the fabric!”
For Gianna Pamich, president of Italian dental clothing company Pastelli, creating elegant, comfortable, and functional dental clothing isn’t just another job—it’s in her blood.
“My mother’s family has been in textiles since 1929 and since my father was a dental and pharmaceutical importer, she got the idea in the 1960s to produce a collection of medical clothing specifically for dentistry,” Pamich explains.
Pamich’s involvement in the family business started when she was 18 years old. “My mother started to give me responsibility at 18. I was only 22 when she told me, ‘From now on, you will also help with the commercial part of the business,’” Pamich explains. “When I decided that I would follow the family business, she forced me to be involved with every single aspect of the business, from the production to the selection of the materials.”
Today, Pastelli is headquartered in Campo San Martino, Italy, an area known for its clothing factories, a strategic decision that’s allowed Pamich to seek out top-tier talent to bring her designs to life. “This region was very famous in the ‘80s for producing top-level men’s clothing and shirts,” Pamich explains. “It was very easy in this area, at that time, to find skilled artisans who were really able to do amazing work.”
Though Pastelli primarily designs clothes for dentists, Pamich says that team will also feel comfortable in the company’s designs, “A neat, professional look never hurts.” Her contributions are only a tiny piece of the puzzle for dental professionals in terms of gaining patient trust and loyalty.
Even among the company’s non-bespoke garments, there’s one aspect of Pastelli designs that indelibly separates the brand from its competitors: its fabrics, including its specially-designed Levantine cotton, which has become its most popular material. Pamich says that the company’s Levantine fabric remains completely intact after the equivalent of 1,500 standard domestic washings.
“We have thousands of clients who, after five years or even 10 years [of washing] them properly as per our instructions, have completely intact clothes. The quality of the fabric we produce is amazing.”
While Levantine has become what Pamich calls the company’s “classic design,” she says that the clothing the company produces depends entirely on the market they’re serving. For instance, Pamich explains, in the US, demand is high for wrinkle-free fabrics.
From black scrubs in certain Asian countries to white lab coats in America, “There is a completely different aesthetic aspect in how dentists are dressed worldwide,” says Pamich, who notes that more than 50 percent of the garments Pastelli sells are white, due to the color’s lingering association with the medical profession.
While Pastelli hasn’t been eager to deviate from the company’s proven formula for durability and customer satisfaction, Pamich admits that COVID has had a pronounced impact on the brand’s offerings.
“We are now creating an antiviral fabric that will be available this spring,” she explains. Pamich adds that the company is also branching out with the expansion of its clothing fabricated using Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a fabric made from recycled plastic bottles that “requires no ironing at all and has absolutely zero wrinkles” and is “almost indestructible.”
While, to some, scrubs, lab coats, and other dental apparel—no matter the manufacturer—are practically indistinguishable from one another, Pamich says that Pastelli’s commitment to excellent fabric and design is what makes the brand stand out from its competitors.
“Fabric is like the engine of a car,” says Pamich. “You can have a car that’s red, maybe souped-up, two-seats, very sporty, but what’s really important is the quality of the engine, for us, the quality of the fabric!”
Click here to view Pastelli’s website and browse more of their clothing designs.
