In twenty years of career, Nina Christen, 39 years old, has seen her name, unknown to the general public, develop a rare notoriety within luxury houses. After having trained at Balenciaga and Saint Laurent, the one who defines herself as a “meganerd” du soulier decided to become a consultant in 2016. She then invented, for her renowned clients, unique, therefore noticed, and sometimes commercial hits: practical heels with square toes at Celine (Phoebe Philo period), unforgettable sexy leather mules braided for Bottega Veneta, cartoonish hybrids à la Minnie Mouse, some made of deflated balloons, for Loewe… “Shoes allow you to express yourself more than clothes”, believes the Swiss designer, a graduate of the French Fashion Institute, who began by learning couture techniques from Karl Lagerfeld.
“For me, it’s the shoe that can determine the look, because it gives you an attitude and can transform the silhouette. She has a lot of impact. » In her office in the north of Paris, Nina Christen slides her Vitra chair on casters around a large square white table to better move from one project and client to another. Among them, The Row, with whom she has recently collaborated.
His common thread? A thirst for innovation which pushes her to work with carbon or new rubbers thanks to the technical possibilities given to her by the network of Italian factories which she has built and which she visits every month, in Veneto or near Naples. “I draw each model down to the smallest detail, by hand, to explain my intentions. But words can also give birth to a shoe. Like a recipe that we would write before giving it to cook”, she compares.
For the first time, she comes out of the shadows and this month signs a few pieces in her name for At. Kollektive, the own brand of the Danish tanner Ecco Leather. Going against the glamor or surrealism already explored, she draws ballerina sneakers or sock ballerinas in perforated or molded leather, black, white, gray or chick yellow, between city and hiking. As a prerequisite for the brand she plans to launch in the coming months.
From €245 to €345 at At.Kollektive.