Mathilde Favier, Dior’s director of public relations, died on Monday in a car crash in western France. Dior Mathilde was 57. Producer Nicolas Altmayer also died in the collision on a departmental road in Airvault, in the Deux-Sèvres region.
The crash happened around 4 p.m., when their vehicle hit a heavy goods vehicle traveling in the opposite direction while they were overtaking another vehicle. The investigation opened afterward is for involuntary manslaughter by a driver, a step meant to determine how the collision unfolded and who, if anyone, may face criminal liability.
Airvault in the Deux-Sèvres
Nicolas Leclainche described the crash to AFP with the words: “hit a heavy goods vehicle traveling in the opposite direction while they were overtaking another vehicle.” That detail leaves one point unresolved: the overtaking maneuver is established, but the facts provided do not say whether the driver under investigation was at fault.
Le Figaro reported that Altmayer and Favier were traveling from Cabourg to the Île de Ré. Favier owned a home in the Île de Ré, which places the journey in a personal setting rather than a business one.
Mathilde Favier and Nicolas Altmayer
Favier joined Dior in 2011 and became director of public relations for Dior Couture. She worked closely with Natalie Portman, Rihanna, Jennifer Lawrence, Anya Taylor-Joy, Camille Cottin and Jisoo, and she had previously worked at Prada.
She also founded Esthétique & Cancer and published Mathilde à Paris in 2024 with journalist Frédérique Dedet. Her family ties included Victoire de Castellane, the Dior Joaillerie creative director.
Nicolas Altmayer and Mandarin & Compagnie
Altmayer ran Mandarin & Compagnie with his brother Éric Altmayer and produced Michel Hazanavicius' OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies and OSS 117: Lost in Rio, as well as Brice de Nice starring Jean Dujardin. Nicolas and Éric Altmayer received the César Academy's Daniel Toscan du Plantier Award in 2017.
Fabien Onteniente told AFP, “A great producer has died.” François Ozon wrote on X, “Shock and sadness. Nicolas Altmayer was a great producer. A supporter and a friend.” Franck Gastambide told Le Figaro, “For 15 years, he was not only my producer but also my mentor, the father I would have wanted to have.”
