PARIS – As the industry awaits the June 27 reveal of Jonathan Anderson’s designs in his new role as Dior’s creative director of women’s, men’s and haute couture collections, a key hire in his team has been revealed.

Footwear designer Nina Christen, who cooked up Loewe’s shoe festooned with balloons and toy-like Comic Foam pumps under the Northern Irish designer’s tenure there, has revealed on Instagram she has now joined the French house as design director of shoes.

According to a LinkedIn post, Christen took up her position this month. Dior and the designer did not immediately return requests.

Christen is also behind other eye-catching footwear in recent years, including Bottega Veneta’s Puddle boot from fall 2020 and its Lido sandal with its wide band of Intrecciato leather.

A graduate of the Institut Français de la Mode, the Chilean-Swiss native cut her teeth with an internship at Balenciaga during Nicolas Ghesquière’s tenure, then a position as shoe designer at Saint Laurent, first under Stefano Pilati then Hedi Slimane.

In 2017, she joined Celine in the Phoebe Phileo era, where she met Daniel Lee, leading her to Bottega Veneta when he became the brand’s artistic director.

After a three-year stint at the Italian house, the footwear designer then joined Loewe in June 2022 as head of footwear design, where she worked with Anderson for over a year.

Most recently, the Zurich-based designer was shoe design director for The Row.

Christen launched her eponymous brand in 2024, offering a first selection of nonseasonal styles on its website in September. Its retail debut was at Bergdorf Goodman in May before landing at Ssense. From fall 2025, it will be stocked in Selfridges, Lane Crawford and Dover Street Market addresses in London, New York and Los Angeles.