Akshay Khubchandani, Founder of Balomel, a medical wear brand, on the changing expectations around comfort, functionality and professional identity in medical apparel
“Medical professionals spend some of their longest and most demanding working hours in their uniforms. We believe their workwear should be designed around that reality — giving them comfort, functionality and confidence without compromising on a professional appearance,” says Khubchandani.
For healthcare professionals, scrubs have long been an integral part of clinical workwear. They are familiar, functional and deeply associated with modern healthcare environments. The question today is not whether scrubs belong in healthcare—they clearly do—but how well the workwear is designed for the people who depend on it every day.
Doctors, nurses, technicians and other clinical professionals can spend long hours moving between consultations, wards, procedures, laboratories and demanding care environments. Their workwear has to keep pace with that reality.
This is leading to a more considered conversation around medical apparel in India—one that goes beyond simply having a uniform and looks instead at comfort, fit, mobility, functionality and professional appearance.
When the Uniform Becomes Part of the Working Environment
A healthcare professional’s uniform has to perform differently from clothing worn during a conventional working day. It may be worn for eight, ten or even twelve hours, accommodate constant movement, withstand repeated washing and carry everyday essentials.
These practical demands make the design of medical workwear an important part of the everyday working experience.
A well-designed garment does not need to attract attention; it simply needs to work. The fit should allow movement, the fabric should remain comfortable, useful pockets should be accessible and the garment should maintain its appearance through regular professional use.
For someone wearing the same category of clothing throughout demanding shifts, these details can become far more important than they initially appear.
Designing Around the Reality of Clinical Work
For years, medical uniforms have often been approached from an institutional perspective, with attention to standardised colours, identifiable silhouettes and procurement requirements. Those considerations remain important, but there is another perspective: the professional actually wearing the uniform.
Healthcare workers experience their workwear while standing, walking, sitting, bending, reaching, working with patients and moving throughout their day. Factors such as fabric feel, fit and ease of movement therefore become practical requirements rather than simply aesthetic choices.
The question is no longer only whether a uniform looks appropriate in a clinical environment, but whether it is equally appropriate for the person spending their working day in it.
Functionality Lives in the Details
The usefulness of healthcare apparel often comes down to details that may appear small on a product page.
A pocket needs to be accessible. A waistband needs to remain comfortable during extended wear. A garment needs enough room for movement without appearing oversized. Fabric needs to balance comfort with the realities of regular professional use.
When the same garment is worn repeatedly, these details can become significant.
For healthcare institutions, consistency also matters because uniforms help create a recognisable identity across teams and departments. A thoughtfully designed uniform can therefore serve both practical and organisational purposes—supporting the professional while contributing to a cohesive institutional appearance.
Professional Appearance Without Sacrificing Comfort
The evolution of medical workwear is not simply about making healthcare uniforms more fashionable. Professional appearance has always mattered in healthcare, but expectations are increasingly centred on achieving appearance alongside comfort and functionality.
Hospitals, clinics and healthcare organisations may use particular colours, embroidery and other visual elements to build consistency across teams, while individual professionals may also value fit and presentation.
The opportunity is to bring these priorities together.
A uniform can be comfortable without looking casual, functional without looking purely utilitarian, and professional without restricting movement.
A More Human Approach to Medical Apparel
What Balomel is attempting to address..
Founded by Akshay Khubchandani, Balomel approaches medical apparel with a focus on the people who wear it and the environments in which they work. Its philosophy, “Healing hands Deserve the Best,” reflects the belief that healthcare professionals deserve workwear designed with the same attention to their everyday needs that they bring to caring for others.
“We don’t look at a scrub simply as a piece of clothing. It is something a healthcare professional may wear through a significant part of their day. So the design has to begin with understanding that person’s working reality.”
The approach places comfort and functionality alongside professional presentation, recognising that these elements can work together rather than being competing priorities.
The Future of Medical Workwear in India
The future of medical workwear is unlikely to depend on replacing scrubs with something completely different. Scrubs have already established their place in healthcare. The more relevant question is how the category can continue to evolve around the people who wear them.
As healthcare environments become more specialised, details such as better fabrics, thoughtful fits, useful functionality, greater comfort and designs suited to long clinical shifts can become increasingly important.
The change is therefore less about what healthcare professionals wear and more about how that clothing is designed for their working reality.
The discussion is especially relevant as expectations around professional clothing continue to become more user-focused. Healthcare workers are not only looking for a recognisable uniform; they also need garments that fit naturally into demanding routines.
A thoughtful approach can consider how clothing feels during extended shifts, how easily essentials can be carried, how consistently garments perform after repeated laundering and how the overall design supports a professional presence.
These considerations matter at an individual level, but they can also matter at an organisational level when hospitals and clinics want staff to present a coherent identity.
In this sense, medical apparel sits at an interesting intersection of personal comfort, operational practicality and institutional presentation.
Balomel’s Role in the Changing Healthcare Apparel
Balomel’s positioning reflects this broader shift toward purpose-designed healthcare workwear.
The brand focuses on medical apparel including scrubs and lab coats, with an emphasis on creating garments around the practical realities of healthcare professionals. Its approach brings together comfort, functionality and professional appearance while recognising that healthcare workwear is ultimately worn by people—not simply prescribed as a uniform.
For Mr. Khubchandani, the opportunity is to look at medical apparel from the perspective of the professional who wears it every day.
“Healthcare professionals spend their working lives caring for others. We believe the workwear they rely on should be designed with equal thoughtfulness around their own comfort, confidence and everyday needs.”
As expectations continue to evolve, the role of medical apparel may become increasingly connected to the broader experience of working in healthcare.
The uniform itself is not new. The expectations from it are.
And for a profession built around caring for people, recognising the needs of the people providing that care is perhaps the most natural direction for medical workwear to take.
About Balomel
Balomel is a healthcare apparel brand focused on modern medical workwear, including scrubs and lab coats. Founded by Akshay Khubchandani, the brand’s philosophy, “Healing hands Deserve the Best,” reflects its focus on designing healthcare apparel around the comfort, functionality and professional needs of the people who wear it.
