Dior on Tuesday revealed the “accidental death” of Mathilde Favier, one of its longtime public relations executives, lauding her as “an exceptional woman whose communicative joy, talent and loyalty were exemplary.”
According to news reports, Favier perished in a car accident Monday that also claimed her companion, French film producer Nicolas Altmayer.
“I was deeply saddened to learn of the tragic and sudden passing of Mathilde Favier, who devoted so many years to putting her passion, energy and talent at the service of the house of Dior,” Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive officer of Dior’s parent LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, was quoted as saying on Dior’s official Instagram account. “My heartfelt condolences go to her family and loved ones.”
“Mathilde loved life with a passion,” added Delphine Arnault, chairman and CEO of Christian Dior Couture. “Dior is losing an incredible professional, and I have lost a loyal friend. Her optimism and courage commanded admiration. We will sorely miss her smile and her talent. I feel deeply saddened today; my thoughts are very much with her children, her mother, her sisters, her family, her many friends and her team she loved so much.”
During her recent work as international PR director for Dior women, Favier oversaw VIP relations, putting her on first-name terms with everyone from Rihanna and Jennifer Lawrence to Jisoo.
“From the very beginning of my journey with Dior, you welcomed me with such warmth and kindness,” the Blackpink star wrote to her 80.1 million followers on Instagram, via the Stories feature. “Over the years, we shared so many special moments, and I will always be grateful for the care, love, and support you showed me along the way.”
Favier was also a well-known figure on social media, her fame propelled by her hit 2024 coffee-table book “Living Beautifully in Paris.” Her account boasts 242,000 followers.
“She is, was and forever will be a way-shower in this industry,” designer J.J. Martin wrote on Dior’s account. “She had all of the chicness, exquisite style, taste and elegance demanded in the front lines of fashion, and yet, none of its stone-cold artifice.”
The half-sister of Victoire de Castellane, creative director of Dior jewelry, Favier moved in fashion circles since her teens, when her uncle Gilles Dufour got her an internship at Chanel, where he worked alongside Karl Lagerfeld.
Born and raised in Paris, she attended the Institut de l’Assomption, commonly known as Lübeck, where her classmates included designers Vanessa Seward and Camille Miceli, and stylist Emmanuelle Alt.
Favier cut short her studies to join Glamour magazine before eventually moving into public relations at Prada and then Dior, where she logged 15 years, straddling several creative directors.
Jonathan Anderson, Dior’s current creative leader, said he was heartbroken by Favier’s passing.
“We all owe so much to her work and dedication. She brought such warmth, energy and was the most positive and uplifting person I have ever met,” he wrote on Dior’s Instagram account. “Mathilde was the very embodiment of elegance and in many ways, the spirit of couture itself.”
Her book, published by Flammarion, catapulted her as a renowned tastemaker and hostess, with a Rolodex of powerful people from across the worlds of culture, politics and industry.
Last January, Favier was in the headlines for organizing an online auction, titled “Mathilde and Friends in Paris,” offering clothing, jewelry and design objects from her private collection, alongside items contributed by friends such as designer Julie de Libran, decorator Jacques Grange and cosmetics guru Terry de Gunzburg.
Favier acquired a taste for graceful living by growing up surrounded by women like interior designer Madeleine Castaing and society doyenne Lee Radziwill, who introduced her to businessman Robert Agostinelli, the father of her two children, Héloïse and Carlo.
She considered simple sophistication, quality and surrounding herself with beauty as a way of life.
“It’s a way to avoid what is sad and ugly, because life spares no one,” she told WWD in 2024.
– With contributions from Lily Templeton