In 2018, Rocío Gallar and Jorge Ros started tinkering with jewelry design at a craft workshop near their home in Valencia, Spain. The couple—who worked in communications and furniture design, respectively—considered it a hobby. “We felt like kids after work, going there in our free time,” says Ros. But their signature style—organic textures and chunky sculptural forms—proved so popular that they turned it into a brand. Since officially launching Simuero in May 2020, their designs have drawn a crowd of loyal shoppers and stockists, and not just in Spain. The brand is popular everywhere from the United Kingdom and France to Japan and the United States, their top market.
When it comes to sartorial soft power, there’s already been French girl fashion (think Breton-stripes and high-waisted jeans), both the minimalist and maximalist extremes of the Scandi spectrum, and the pared-back 90’s cool of the New York woman. Now, a cohort of buzzy independent brands are popularizing easy-going Spanish style.
Linda Cui Zhang, Nordstrom’s associate fashion director, has noticed the rise Spanish fashion, coining it the arrival of the Mediterranean woman. She points to Paloma Wool, the artsy Barcelona label started by Paloma Lanna in 2014. It manages to toe the line between accessible and aspirational with vintage-inspired leather goods and gauzy, body-skimming separates. Worn by celebrities like Lily-Rose Depp and Bella Hadid, the brand’s annual sales are nearly $19 million.
Pol Conill, the photographer who serves as Paloma Wool’s co-image director, alongside Lanna, noticed the brand’s global potential in 2019, when the team staged a pop-up in New York City. “Everything was brought in suitcases from Barcelona to New York—it was very new to us, and all of a sudden there was a queue out the door,” recalls Conill. “It wasn't very usual for Spanish people to create a brand [in this way]— the fashion industry in Spain is very local.” There are exceptions, like LVMH-owned luxury house Loewe and fast-fashion players Mango and Zara, but few global Spanish labels exist in the space in-between.
Craft is the common denominator for Spanish brands. Almost all of them leverage the country’s rich and diverse network of artisans. The womenswear label La Veste, which was founded by influencers Blanca Miró and María de la Orden, is proudly made in Spain. As is Gimaguas, known for its Y2K-inspired separates and leather accessories. Meanwhile Pardo, the hat brand started by Barcelona-based milliner Sol Prado, is making statement headwear using natural materials. Each one takes 10 to 50 hours of handiwork.
A major reason why these growing brands are staying in Spain, as opposed to relocating to bigger fashion hubs, is proximity to those small makers. Simuero’s Gallar and Ros are just about 3 miles away from most of their producers. Similarly, Hereu—a company helmed by Valencian Jose Luis Bartolomé and Mallorcan Albert Escribano—makes their leather shoes and bags in Spain using a network of family-run manufacturers employing techniques like hand-stitching, leather weaving, and basketry. “Our work is deeply rooted in Mediterranean culture, its landscapes, traditions, and artisanal expertise,” says Escribano. “Being based here keeps us closely connected to the artisans who bring our designs to life, ensuring the integrity of craftsmanship and the preservation of local skills.”
While quality and craftsmanship are certainly draws, it’s the re-interpretation of Spain’s easy-going conviviality that’s also alluring. Some brands deal in saturated prints and motifs while others pedal pared-back styles, but the overall mood is one of effortlessness, leisure, and not taking fashion too seriously.
This freer approach to dressing might stem from the lack of a singular Spanish “look,” says Conill. “Spain hasn't been the most fashionable country in history: we don't have the heritage of French people, who are born with this sense of what to wear. We are still figuring it out, so it’s more experimental.”
Since Paloma Wool’s first pop-up in New York, the brand has travelled—at the behest of its engaged Instagram following—to Seoul, London, and Paris. The brand even opened its first permanent store in New York in March, at 425 Broome Street, where they hosted their pop-ups. But Paloma Wool is also preparing a move to its new headquarters in Barcelona, which will double as a store. “It’s a statement that we are staying here. Of course, we have collaborators around the world for all the different things we do. But our base is and will always be Barcelona.”
