The Designer Behind Luxury’s Most Directional Shoes Is Ready for the Spotlight

PARIS — Nina Christen has spent a decade behind the scenes creating some of luxury fashion’s most directional shoe designs, from Bottega Veneta’s Puddle Boots to Loewe’s Balloon Pumps.

Now she’s ready for the spotlight.

Alongside her biggest in-house role yet — design director for footwear at Dior, where she has reunited with former Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson — the Chilean Swiss designer is gearing up to launch her first store for her own brand, Christen, in Paris.

“I like being in the spotlight,” Christen said. “Sometimes I felt like nobody knew I designed a shoe, so it feels nice to finally get that recognition.”

The designer said she decided to launch her own label to give herself the time and creative freedom to make footwear to her exacting standards: she likes to refine her designs for more than a year, something she doesn’t typically have the opportunity to do when designing for others.

“When you work for brands, you collaborate and adapt your vision to the creative director,” Christen said. “I wanted something where I could do what I wanted: purity, simplicity and technically engineered detail made out of luxurious materials.”

Her approach is winning converts, including celebrity fans like Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Victoria Beckham. The industry has also been quick to validate Christen’s solo effort: key retailers like Bergdorf Goodman, Selfridges, Lane Crawford and Mytheresa have picked up the label.

Christen’s more than a decade of experience at top fashion houses — she worked at Saint Laurent, Celine and Dries Van Noten, before going on to Bottega Veneta, Loewe, The Row and Dior — has certainly helped.

It’s given her credibility with key Italian suppliers, as well as stockists, and allowed her to go head-to-head with major luxury brands with top-end price points that range from $1,650 for her Helix Sandal to $3,625 for her over-the-knee Big Boot. It also helped her find a partner in med-tech entrepreneur Paul Dupuy, who raised $5 million in capital for the fledgling label and supports with business operations.

Even so, creating an independent footwear brand is no small challenge, especially for female founders who can face entrenched obstacles across everything from fund raising to finding mentorship.

Christen says being a woman gives her a sharper understanding of what women actually want on their feet: “As a woman designing women’s footwear, I test every pair myself. I am relentless with the perfect fit.”

“Christen offers something fresh: Her shoes fit our customer’s desire for refined, sculptural lines without sacrificing comfort,” said Selfridges’ director of accessories, Sara Wong. “She has a clear feminine tone without being overcomplicated. That’s how women want to wear their footwear.”

Christen’s ambitions for her brand extend beyond footwear. While shoes will remain her core product, she plans to add other categories from denim to jewellery.

And after Christen launches her Paris store, set to open on the Rue de la Paix in the second quarter of 2026, she has her sights on the US market. “My designs for Bottega always received a huge response in the US. A big percentage of Christen clients are in the States,” she said.

Even as she lends her talent to a major house like Dior, Christen means to keep building her brand.

“My brand is my life project,” she said.