An assignment of a lifetime: designing for the Olympics

Uniform design company Total Image Group works with clients across a range of industries - but they never expected to add the Australian Olympic team to their client list.

The Olympic Games are all about sport, but for Pamela Jabbour, they're all about fashion.

That's because her company, Total Image Group, designed the official Aussie uniforms for the 2018 Winter Olympics.

With navy blazers and flashes of forest green and gold, Pamela says she was going for a smart, casual look – “something [the athletes] could mix and match casually for different events.”

It’s been an assignment unlike any other. Total Image Group typically dresses the employees of clients like Woolworths, Dan Murphies, Ford or AMF Bowling.

So when the Australian Olympic Committee called, it was a shock.

Pamela with Australian athletes in their official Olympic uniforms. Source: Supplied

“They heard about us in the uniform market and had seen some of our work."

"They asked if we'd be interested and I was really nervous and made it clear we hadn't done anything like before - and they said, 'no one ever has!' And it went from there.”

After 12 years in business, the Olympics gig has been a game changer for Total Image Group

“We’ve never had a public face before,” Pamela says. “This has definitely put the spotlight on us.”

But the spotlight can be harsh too. When the uniforms were unveiled last year, they were slammed by some. Designer Alex Perry remarked they'd be better suited to bank workers.

Pamela says she was expecting the criticism.

A sketch of Total Image Group's uniform design for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Source: Supplied

“Not everybody has the same taste and just to be even spoken about or acknowledged was, for me, such a positive because we’ve never even had any media attention - be it good or bad. And they were talking about us, so we must have done something right!” she laughs.

With their increasing profile, Total Image Group is looking to position themselves as experts and consultants in the uniform industry. They now dress 250,000 people each day across Australia and turn over $15 million a year.

While she's had a lot of success, Pamela doesn't shy away from talking about the personal challenges she's faced.

“It’s imposter syndrome: you walk into events and you feel [like] you don’t belong. I think a lot of women struggle with that.”

She started the business straight out of university, leveraging her father’s experience in the wider clothing manufacturing industry.

It was a different path to the one travelled by many of her peers.

“I went to a Catholic, all-Lebanese school.  A lot of the girls get married really young and have lots of children, so I kind of did something different.

"It’s just showing you don’t need to follow the stereotype."

Watch this story at the top of the page, or catch the full episode on SBS On Demand.