Penélope Cruz On Working With Almodóvar, Wearing Couture And Designing Diamonds

Penélope Cruz hit the red steps at the Cannes Film Festival 2019 again last night, this time for the screening of Dolor Y Gloria, her latest piece of work with filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar.

A red carpet native at this point, the 45-year-old actress was resplendent, as ever, in a bespoke Chanel couture dress and one-of-a-kind Atelier Swarovski diamonds that she designed herself in collaboration with the jewellery house.

Despite being every inch the superstar, speaking with her at lunchtime today, in her hotel suite on the Croisette, she is sweetly effusive in her praise of other people's work, from Nadja Swarovski and Karl Lagerfeld, through to her longtime friend Almodóvar.

'[Last night's dress] was by Karl Lagerfeld, for his last couture collection with Chanel and I loved it. They've been continuing to work on it for the last month - it was a lot of work - and it turned out amazingly. It was an honour to wear it, a real honour.

'It had a real Marie Antoinette feeling. It was originally pink, but they changed it to blue. And the way it moved.. it's like it was alive,' she explains.

Behind the jewellery that completed Cruz's look, is a rather special story. The set - which featured drop earrings and a ring made with pear-cut Swarovski Created Diamonds and set in responsibly sourced gold - was designed by Penélope herself.

Cruz explains that her affinity with the Swarovski brand developed once she began to understand the sustainability ethos associated with lab-grown diamonds.

For your knowledge, the human-engineered gems have the same optical, chemical and physical attributes as mined diamonds, but at less cost to people and the environment.

'I was introduced to Nadja Swarovski in Madrid and we really connected,' Cruz recalls.

'She told me about all the things that they do to create the diamonds and I didn’t even think that was possible! I was very impressed by that, so when they offered me the opportunity to work together I immediately said yes.

'Everything they do is beautiful, of course, but it is their values that I love,' she asserts.

And as for her praise for Almodóvar? She speaks of the filmmaker as if he is part of her family.

The film, Dolor Y Gloria (Pain and Glory), traces the decline of a celebrated film director and is something of a biopic, loosely based on Almodóvar's own life. It's in the running for the highest prize awarded at the film festival - the Palme d'Or.

'Working with geniuses like Pedro...' she tails off, lost for words. 'Going up those stairs for his movie, I had butterflies. Pedro is like family; he is very important to me. And the screening last night was so important and I was worried about how the film would be received, because you never know... but the reaction was great.'

Cruz plays Jacinta - an interpretation of Almodóvar's mother - opposite Antonio Banderas. When credited for her own talent for diving deeply into the characters she plays, to embody them with complexity and nuance, she demurs, hesitant to receive the same sort of flattery she's bestowed everyone else in this interview.

'I didn't feel like [playing Jacinta] was a scary responsibility, because I didn’t have to play her exactly - the way she talked, the way she moved,' she deflects.

'I was also playing years when she was really young. When I met her she was close to 80! It was more like having to capture the essence of who that woman was and that was already in the script and it was very well written and I just had to follow that.

'It felt like a privilege and an honour [to play Almodóvar's mother] because we are so close,' she finishes on the topic.

Penelope Cruz and Pedro Almodovar

Returning to a topic she feels more comfortable with, Cruz reflects on the strength of women in the industry around her at the moment - the ones taking a stand on important issues and creating a space for other female voices - but, she ultimately decides that the person she wants to give a final nod to is her mother.

'My mum always says what she feels and what she thinks. She has always created that space for herself. She walks into a room and she is going to say what she thinks and that’s the way she grew up. And I grew up watching that. I am happy that I had a mother that who was so outspoken and honest,' she concludes.

Watch the trailer for the film here:

View full post on Youtube

The one-off set, designed by Penélope Cruz especially for Cannes, will be put up for sale at the end of the festival, for one lucky person to own, so keep your eyes peeled. In the mean time, you can buy the Penélope Cruz x Atelier Swarovski fine jewellery and Moonsun lines at Harvey Nichols.