Dior PR Executive Mathilde Favier Dies At 57
The fashion industry lost one of its most beloved figures this week. Mathilde Favier, director of public relations at Dior, died on Monday, August 17, in a car accident in western France alongside her partner, French film producer Nicolas Altmayer, at 57 years old. Favier joined Dior in 2011 after more than a decade at Prada, and spent 15 years building the house’s relationships with the actors, musicians, and cultural figures who wore Dior on red carpets and sat in its front rows. Natalie Portman, Rihanna, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Blackpink’s Jisoo were among the names she worked closely with. Beyond her role at the house, she was a founding member of Esthétique & Cancer, a French organization supporting women undergoing cancer treatment through beauty and care programs, an initiative born from her own experience with the illness. In 2024, she published Living Beautifully in Paris, a personal guide to the city she loved, written with journalist Frédérique Dedet. “With the passing of Mathilde, Dior is losing an incredible professional, and I have lost a loyal friend,” said Delphine Arnault, chairman and CEO of Christian Dior Couture. Jonathan Anderson, creative director of Dior, said, “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.” She is survived by her two children, Héloïse and Carlo. [WWD]
Mathilde Favier | photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images for Christian Dior
Totême Launches Menswear
Totême launched its first menswear collection for Fall/Winter 2026, but in many ways the house has been making menswear for years without calling it that. The Swedish label’s oversized shirts, straight-leg trousers, and precisely cut outerwear have always been shared, borrowed, and styled across genders by the people who wear them. Today’s debut simply makes official what Totême’s customers have been doing since day one. The collection covers familiar Totême territory, a zip leather jacket, a cable-knit cardigan, a hazel trench, croco-embossed loafers, and the kind of classic pocket shirt that earns its place in a wardrobe for a decade. Pieces range from $450 to $2,880 and are available now on toteme.com.
Sandy Liang Is Publishing a Book With Rizzoli
Sandy Liang has never kept an official archive. However, what she does have is twelve years of film photos, iPhone snapshots, personal mementos, and her eponymous label, Sandy Liang, that has built one of the most devoted followings in contemporary fashion. According to Vogue, when Rizzoli approached her to make a book, the project felt overwhelming precisely because of its finality. “I’m one of those people who feels like the job is never done,” she said. The result is Dressing Up, a 276-page hardcover monograph that will be published on September 29 with contributions from Heaven by Marc Jacobs’ creative director, Ava Nirui, and stylist Dean Dicriscio. It is less a coffee-table book and more of a hand-annotated diary, gathering inspiration, runway shots, and memorabilia. [Vogue]
Industry Access: Mentoring Matters and Who Gets In?
In an industry where who you know can carry as much weight as what you know, access can shape a career trajectory before it even begins. In the latest Industry Access: Who Gets In?, Models.com Features Editor and Mentoring Matters alum Anire Ikomi speaks with Mentoring Matters program founder Laura Edwards and former mentors Jawara of Echelon Noir, Harper’s Bazaar U.S. Executive Digital Director Lynette Nylander, and Supreme’s Director of Strategic Costing, Jessica Lin. Watch the full conversation here.
Photographer Tom Johnson on How Images Hold Emotion
“Emotion, energy, and sensitivity, with a sprinkle of positivity and color. My work always carries a storytelling element. Whether it’s a person or a place, I try to weave that thread through everything I make,” is how photographer Tom Johnson would describe his trademark. For the next Behind the Image, Models.com speaks to Johnson on his journey from guitarist to photographer. He has shot for some of fashion’s biggest publications and brands, like D Repubblica, M Le Monde, and Hermès. Plus, learn how he developed his visual language, what he loves most about his work, and who’s one to watch here.
MDC Selects: These New Faces Come With Poetry, Six Sisters, and a Skateboarding Past
These new faces come with poetry, six sisters, a skateboarding past, and a few hidden talents. Learn more about Jana, Santino, Twig, and Vsevolod as they share their scouting stories, passions, and unexpected paths that have shaped them beyond modeling. Meet them all here.
The Men’s Top 50 adds Bukwop Kir, Chandler Frye, Cirillo, Dugyeong Kim, and Mohammed Banze. With a growing presence across the catwalk, editorials, and major campaigns, these models are working with fashion’s top clients and making their mark on the menswear market. Meet the faces on the rise here.
The Money List ranking has been updated. With consistent bookings from top-paying clients, Akbar Shamji, Ibra Niakate, Joseph Uyttenhove, Junyeong Baek, Kyosuke Akiyoshi, Maya Vozhdaeva, Rosalieke Fuchs, Sean O’Pry, and Yeray Allgayer have dominated the menswear and womenswear markets across campaigns, covers, and runway shows. To see the complete Money List, head over here.
