Nina Christen is the designer behind fashion’s favourite – and most playful – shoes

When it comes to footwear, Swiss designer Nina Christen has proved something of a soothsayer, working behind the scenes at Céline, Bottega Veneta and Loewe to develop styles that have since become ubiquitous in style circles. Now design director of shoes at Dior under Jonathan Anderson – the pair honed their working relationship at Loewe – she also opened her own eponymous label, Christen, in 2024.

‘Shoes have always been an obsession. I collected and wore vintage pairs from a very young age, studying them for years,’ she says. ‘I was always particular about shoes as a child.’ (Some of her more radical choices, Christen notes, caused her to be made fun of by her classmates.) In her work now, this translates into unexpected silhouettes and idiosyncratic adornment (one memorable pair at Loewe was constructed from deflated balloons). ‘I feel compelled to create what has never existed.’

At Christen, this might be a two-tone ballerina pump with a split ‘tabi’ toe, a fuzzy shearling-covered boot, or a riff on the classic heeled pump in mock croc leather. ‘After years designing for other houses, my own vision was very clear,’ she says of her decision to start the label, which will open its first physical retail space in Paris’ historic Rue de la Paix in late 2026.

‘I was always bringing a part of myself to the brands I worked for, and over time, I felt a growing need to create something that was entirely mine. I also reached a point where I couldn’t find exactly the shoes I wanted anymore, so creating my own label felt natural – and necessary.’ As for how she would describe the Christen woman? ‘Versatile and strong, embodying a classic elegance with an edge.’

A version of this article appears in the January 2026 Next Generation issue of Wallpaper*, available in print on newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News + from 4 December 2025. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today