PARIS — Penélope Cruz has landed a new role: as the face of Spanish leather goods firm Loewe, WWD has learned.
The “Vicky Christina Barcelona” star has signed a three-year deal with  the Madrid-based house, founded in 1846 and owned since 1996 by French  luxury giant LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. It kicks off with her  appearance in the spring 2013 advertising campaign, to be shot soon by  Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott and break in international magazines in  January.
“Penelope is Spain’s most famous woman. For us to  collaborate feels right and natural,” said Stuart Vevers, Loewe’s  British-born creative director.
The actress has already impacted Vevers’ collections, which are presented in Paris.
“I  always start with the woman and a character. I find film very useful as  a fictional character can be liberating creatively,” he explained.  “Pedro Almodóvar’s work is a constant reference and Penelope’s  characters in his films have often been an inspiration — the strength  and complexity they have. I am a big fan of Penélope’s work.”
Loewe  chief executive officer Lisa Montague said Cruz’s fame would help power  the brand as it continues its push into new markets.
Next year,  Loewe plans to open its first boutique in Italy — in Rome’s Piazza di  Spagna — along with a flagship store on Nanjing Road West in Shanghai.  Also, its Paris flagship on Avenue Montaigne is to be refurbished and  will reopen next spring.
“Working with an Oscar-winning actress  with international recognition will be impactful,” Montague said. “I see  it as a major step forward.”
While she declined to quantify media budgets, Montague said, “We are looking at how we can optimize investments.”
At  present, Loewe runs campaigns in its main markets: Japan, where it has  about 40 directly operated boutiques or shops-in shop; Spain, where  there are 22 stores, and China, Asia-Pacific, the U.K. and France.
The current fall campaign features five notable Spaniards from the worlds of film, modeling, art and music.
Montague  and Vevers characterized the choice of Cruz as a continuation of the  theme, rather than playing the fame game. “It was specifically Penelope  we wanted, rather than working with a celebrity,” Montague said.
“The  things that I’m drawn to in the Spanish women I know is a bold attitude  and that feels unique to Spain, a strong feeling of sensuality and  passion,” Vevers said.
Cruz has been involved with several  fashion brands in recent years. She and her sister Mónica Cruz are  collaborating with Agent Provocateur on its first diffusion line, and  the sister act once did a line for Spanish chain Mango. She has also  appeared in ads for Ralph Lauren and L’Oréal.
Despite a morose  economic climate in Spain, Montague said Loewe “enjoyed good progress”  this year and she said its largest store in the world — a  7,000-square-foot unit in Barcelona that opened last March — has been  “absolutely super well received.
“There aren’t many good-news  stories coming out of Spain and so people in Spain and outside of Spain  are really pleased to hear one,” she said.