Mónica Cruz Mónica Cruz the younger sister of actress Penelope Cruz is the face of “Agent Provocateur” fall-winter 2012 advertising campaign inspired by Victorian London and titled "Wilhelmina: Show Your True Self."
Agent Provocateur’s creative director Sarah Shotton described the campaign images and video as “glamorous, dark and mysterious.”
“I wanted it to be romantic Goth, so it’s quite dark but quite beautiful. It’s nostalgic but true to the brand in dark shades of red and purple. It’s set in a Gothic underground space, brought alive by Mónica’s frenzied and fantastical performance. Mónica is a beautiful embodiment of the Agent Provocateur brand, knowingly sexy and empowered by her own sensuality,” said Shotton.
Key styles in the campaign include bondage-inspired Whitney in black; Novah in shades of red, pink and fuchsia and Ameliah, a French lace number.
“For Whitney, we wanted it to be edgy and domineering. We are finding those looks are getting to be more popular.…People are getting braver,” said Shotton. “We wanted Novah in colours that are rich and sexy and slightly Gothic. When I showed Novah to all of the girls at stores worldwide, it was like ‘Ah.’ The lace for Ameliah was so pretty that I wanted to use a full length of it as a skirt with suspenders. If you’re shy about your hips, it kind of skims off the top.”
As for why Cruz was selected as the face and body for the campaign, Shotton said: “She’s a professional dancer, a very sexy women. I’ve never seen a woman move like that.”
This isn't Mónica's first venture into the fashion industry, in 2007, she partnered with Penelope for a line for Spanish retailer Mango.