Penélope and her sister, Mónica, have teamed up to design clothes for ordinary mortals. Deirdre McQuillanhappened on their launch in Ibiza
With a slim but not skin-tight fit, racer-style back and jewelled neckline, Mango's new little black dress is bound to be a winner this winter. It's part of a limited-edition line for the fashion chain designed by Penélope Cruz, Spain's most famous actor, and her sister, Mónica.
The dress was inspired, according to the Oscar-nominated star, by the one Audrey Hepburn wore in Breakfast at Tiffany's - although, perching on a stool in front of cameras at the launch of the range in Ibiza, where she has a home, Penélope occasionally looks awkward, pulling it down over her knees and fidgeting with her shoulder strap. Mónica, dressed in black from head to toe, is wearing flares and a stretch top from the collection, ideal for the flamenco dancer that she is.
With their dark hair and dark eyes, the look-alike sisters do sultry very well as they twirl and turn and flash high- voltage smiles at the cameras. Their style, they say, is very vintage, very 1950s. Movies and fashion go hand in hand.
"It was very funny how we both searched for inspiration and styles on our own, and when we had the meetings with the Mango design team we were coming up with exactly the same ideas. Penélope and I are very much alike," says Mónica.
"The inspiration was mainly provided by vintage markets and shops, cinema from the 20th century, and the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Some of the clothes are inspired by actresses. For example, the leopard-print coat is called Deneuve."
They wanted the clothes to be accessible. "I love Galliano and also the Spanish designers Juanjo Oliva, Miguel Palacios and Ángel Schlesser," Mónica says. "We were thinking of things that we would like to find in shops and things you could find in our wardrobes."
Mónica, who has followed her sister into acting, regards it as an inevitably Spanish collection. "People are always influenced by their home country, the culture and the way people dress and used to dress in the past," she says. "I love the old Spanish way of dressing, especially in the south, with the incredible flamenco dresses."
Maybe it's a Spanish thing, but apart from a fake-fur leopard-print coat, a bright red duffel- style jacket and some print dresses, the collection is mostly black, sombre yet sexy, with low-cut black-lace dresses and infanta-style floor-length gowns. High-waisted matador-style trousers are par for the course.
The 31 pieces in the range, which goes on sale in Ireland in October with prices from €34 to €139, is divided into two categories, urban and evening, catering for the urban style of working girls and the glamour and sophistication that surround film stars, according to Mango.
The reality, some say dismissively, is that there's not much imagination. It's certainly a safe collection.
The sisters have crossed into fashion before, having given their names to a collection of bags and jewellery for a Japanese company. Penélope - who hit the headlines last month when it was revealed that she was given false eyelashes in an advert for L'Oréal mascara - also opened a shop called Amarcord, after the Fellini movie, in Madrid a few years ago, stocking brands such as Earl Jeans, Juicy Couture and Petit Bateau.
The pair are also starring in Mango's autumn-winter campaign, shot by the fashion photographer Nico Bustos in a series of movie-style stills, and are preparing another collection for the chain for spring-summer 2008.