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NINA CHRISTEN IS ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL DESIGNERS IN LUXURY FOOTWEAR. OVER TWO DECADES, SHE DESIGNED FOR CÉLINE UNDER PHOEBE PHILO, BOTTEGA VENETA UNDER DANIEL LEE, THE ROW AND DIOR UNDER JONATHAN ANDERSON.

THE HANDS BEHIND THE LIDO SANDAL, THE PUDDLE BOOT, AND THE BALLOON PUMP, HER WORK DEFINED HOW A GENERATION OF WOMEN THINK ABOUT SHOES. ODDS ARE: YOU'VE WALKED IN HER SHOES BEFORE.

AFTER TWENTY YEARS INSIDE THE INDUSTRY, NINA CHRISTEN ARRIVED AT A SIMPLE AND QUIETLY RADICAL REALIZATION: SHE COULD NO LONGER FIND A SHOE SHE WANTED TO BUY.

BEFORE A SINGLE SHOE WAS DESIGNED, THE CONCEPT FOR THE SPACE HAD BEEN CONCEIVED. THE PACKAGING HAD BEEN CONSIDERED. THE SOUND, THE SCENT, THE VISUAL LANGUAGE, THE SPATIAL LOGIC, ALL OF IT EXISTED AS A COMPLETE IDEA BEFORE THE FIRST SHOE WAS MADE. 

CHRISTEN WAS RETRO-ENGINEERED FROM A VISION OF TOTAL EXPERIENCE: A GESAMTKUNSTWERK, IN THE ORIGINAL SENSE OF THE WORD, WHERE EVERY ELEMENT WOULD CARRY EQUAL WEIGHT TO THE PRODUCT ITSELF.