Christian Dior Head of Footwear Patternmaking
About Christian Dior
Christian Dior Couture is a preeminent French luxury house renowned for couture, leather goods and footwear, operating within the LVMH group. The brand combines artisanal savoir-faire with a forward-looking design ethos, offering a workplace that prizes precision, creativity and excellence across its ateliers and product teams.
Christian Dior Couture seeks a Head of Footwear Patternmaking in Fosso, Italy — lead internal patternmaking and prototype development for couture footwear.
Role & Responsibilities
- Lead the end-to-end development of footwear models from technical drawings (manual and CAD) through to physical prototypes and pre-industrialization samples.
- Ensure prototypes accurately reflect design intent, fit and functional requirements, providing rigorous technical feedback to the design and style teams.
- Manage, mentor and develop the internal patternmaking team, setting priorities, allocating resources and promoting continuous improvement and innovation.
- Plan and monitor team activities and timelines to meet product development milestones and collection schedules.
- Act as the primary technical reference for Product Development and Prototyping teams, facilitating problem-solving and cross-functional communication.
- Represent modelling capabilities in collection and product advancement meetings, reporting on development status and technical issues.
Qualifications
- Minimum 10 years of progressive, demonstrable experience in footwear patternmaking/modelleria, with a record of increasing responsibility.
- Diploma in patternmaking/modelleria or equivalent technical qualification specific to footwear.
- Deep, practical knowledge of materials (leathers, textiles, soles, components) and their behaviour through different manufacturing processes.
- Proven ability to lead, inspire and develop a team in a high-performance environment.
- Strong organisational skills with the capacity to manage complexity and deliver under tight timelines.
Skills
Experience
At least 10 years of progressive and consolidated experience as a footwear patternmaker/modellista, including leadership responsibility and hands-on prototype development.
Education
Diploma in patternmaking/modelleria (footwear) or equivalent technical qualification.
Workplace
This position is based in Fosso, Veneto, Italy, within easy reach of Venice.
Culture
Christian Dior Couture fosters a culture of meticulous craftsmanship and creative excellence, where artisanal technique sits alongside technical innovation. Teams operate in a collaborative, collection-driven environment that demands high standards, continual learning and cross-disciplinary cooperation within the wider LVMH ecosystem.
About Cerulean
Cerulean is the definitive career portal for the global luxury industry. We match exceptional professionals with exclusive opportunities at the world's most prestigious brands. From haute couture and fine watchmaking to prestige beauty, hospitality, and boutique retail, Cerulean centralises luxury employment to help you find the career for which you were destined.
Frequently Asked Questions
The luxury industry is characterised by a diverse and nuanced nomenclature. Esteemed houses frequently employ proprietary terminology, and even within a single organisation like Christian Dior, titles may vary across global markets to reflect local conventions. To ensure absolute clarity, Cerulean assigns a standardised, industry-coherent canonical title to every listing. However, it is worth noting that this role is functionally synonymous with «Head of Shoe Patternmaking», «Footwear Prototype Manager», «Lead Footwear Patternmaker», «Manager, Internal Shoe Modelling», and other variations. Our sophisticated search architecture anticipates these variations, ensuring that inquiries using related terms will seamlessly yield the exact roles you desire.