Dior’s Mathilde Favier dies in car crash at 57, alongside film producer Nicolas Altmayer

Dior has confirmed the death of Mathilde Favier, the fashion house's Director of Public Relations, following a car accident in France.

What happened

Favier, 57, was killed alongside her boyfriend, 61-year-old film producer Nicolas Altmayer, in a crash on Monday, August 17. According to French outlet Le Monde, quoted by People, the couple's vehicle collided with a truck travelling in the opposite direction while they were overtaking another car, Niort deputy prosecutor Nicolas Leclainche said. Variety has reported that an investigation for involuntary manslaughter has since been opened.

Dior's statement

Dior announced Favier's death on Instagram on Tuesday, August 18: "Dior is deeply saddened to announce the accidental death of Mathilde Favier. In her role as Director of Public Relations, Mathilde Favier made an incredible contribution to the reputation of Christian Dior Couture through her commitment and elegance." The statement continued: "She was an exceptional woman whose communicative joy, talent and loyalty were exemplary."

Tributes from Dior's leadership

Delphine Arnault, chairperson and CEO of Christian Dior Couture, remembered Favier as both a colleague and a friend: "Mathilde loved life with a passion. With the passing of Mathilde, 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."

Bernard Arnault, CEO of Dior's parent company LVMH, also issued a statement: "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. My heartfelt condolences go to her family and loved ones."

Dior’s creative director Jonathan Anderson also penned a tribute to Favier.

“I am heartbroken by Mathilde Favier’s passing,” Anderson said in a statement shared on Dior’s Instagram. “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. Mathilde was the very embodiment of elegance and in many ways, the spirit of Couture itself.”

Favier joined Dior in 2011 after previously working at Prada. During her time at the fashion house, she worked closely with several of its highest-profile ambassadors and clients, including Natalie Portman, Rihanna and Jennifer Lawrence. In 2024, she published the coffee table book Living Beautifully in Paris.

Favier is survived by two children, daughter Héloïse and son Carlo, whom she shared with her former husband, billionaire finance executive Robert Agostinelli. On August 18, Carlo posted a tribute to his mother on Instagram, accompanied by photographs of the two of them together. He began the caption: "My heart aches and my brain is foggy. None of this makes sense, and I struggle to understand how any of it ever will."