If You Like Loewe's Balloon Pumps, You'll Love The Shoes At Jonathan Anderson's Dior

Grazia USA

18 hours ago

Nina Christen is named the new design director of shoes at Dior, joining Jonathan Anderson's creative team (Photo: Instagram / ninachristen_)
The buzz around Jonathan Anderson's Dior debut just keeps getting bigger. The latest news to come out of Paris is that Nina Christen, a shoe designer who has worked for fashion brands like The Row, Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta, has joined Anderson's creative team at the house of Dior.
Christen and Anderson have worked together before—at Loewe, where Christen served as head of footwear design and created quirky shoes to go with Anderson's equally eccentric collections for the Spanish luxury brand. Christen's designs include the Comic Foam Pumps and the Balloon Pumps, which was introduced in Loewe's Spring/Summer 2023 collection and soon went viral.
The designer has other footwear hits under her belt. Following an internship at Balenciaga, then helmed by Nicolas Ghesquière, the Chilean-Swiss designer worked on shoes for Saint Laurent, during both Stefano Pilati's and Hedi Slimane's tenures. The latter era produced Saint Laurent's signature Chelsea boots and other shoes that became cult classics among Hedi boys (and girls), and which were widely copied by other fashion brands. The Balloon Pumps went viral soon after they were unveiled at the Loewe Spring/Summer 2023 show (Photo: Loewe)
Christen went on to design covetable Chelsea boots for Phoebe Philo's Céline, where she met Daniel Lee. After that, she spent three years at Bottega Veneta during Lee's tenure, where she designed the woven Lido sandals—worn and loved by the likes of Rihanna, Margot Robbie and Hailey Bieber—and the divisive Puddle Boot, which is now a must-have for Bottega Veneta collectors.
That already reads like the most impressive resume that a shoe designer can have, but Christen also added The Row to hers in 2023, when she joined Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's luxury fashion brand as shoe designer director. In late 2024, Christen also marked another milestone when she launched her eponymous shoe label, Christen. At Bottega Veneta, Christen designed the Lido sandals… (Photo: Instagram / ninachristen_)
Still, Christen's designs for Dior will likely be her most impactful creations yet. The 40-year-old only started her role as Dior's design director of shoes in June 2025, so we probably won't see any fun footwear at the Dior Men Spring/Summer 2026 show that will be presented at Paris Fashion Week. But we are keeping our eyes peeled, and so are fashion insiders. A comment on Christen's Instagram post announcing her new Dior gig reads: 'I haven't bought a pair of Dior shoes since Raf was there, but now I'm SO EXCITED'.
Ahead, have a glimpse at the Dior debut collection by Jonathan Anderson.
This story originally appeared on GRAZIA Singapore .
topics: featured, Loewe, DIOR, FASHION, Jonathan Anderson, Nina Christen