Ojalá! Paloma del Pozo

In the historic Las Letras quarter, right in the heart of Madrid, there's a shop called Ojalá! — the beloved Spanish exclamation that means something like "God willing!" or "Here's hoping!" They sell women's clothing with hand embroidery and fabrics woven on traditional looms in Morocco.

The brand was founded by Madrid-based designer Paloma del Pozo. In 2005, work took her to Morocco for five years, where she started making the clothes she wanted to wear herself but couldn't find in any shop. In 2006, her brand Ojalá! debuted at Madrid's International Fashion Week. Since then, the label has appeared on well-known runways a number of times, but despite that Paloma prefers to keep her distance from the dictates of the commercial fashion industry.

The brand's signature is hand embroidery: the pattern is first drawn by hand directly onto the fabric, then stitched in coloured thread. As a result, every single piece comes out slightly different from the rest.

All Ojalá! clothing is made in a small private atelier in Tetouan, Morocco. The most exclusive fabrics Paloma designs herself and has them woven on traditional looms in Tangier. Production is deliberately tiny: a single style and colour sometimes runs to just four or five pieces. In the shop you'll find coats, jackets, sweaters, trousers, tops, blouses, skirts and dresses, as well as accessories; custom wedding dresses and children's clothing are also available.

The shop is on Calle de las Huertas, next to the charming Plaza de Santa Ana, a five-minute walk from Puerta del Sol and ten minutes from the Prado. Paloma herself is often behind the counter, and if you're lucky, she'll be the one to help you pick out one of those rare pieces that exists in just five copies in the entire world.