Meet Mathilde Favier, the embodiment of Parisian chic: ‘This is not just a simple auction, but a sale of the soul’

Mathilde Favier is one of fashion’s most sparkling figures. She’s also one of the best-connected women in Paris. Her call history is a who’s who of the city’s most esteemed figures in fashion, beauty, art, interior design and gastronomy, among them the gallerist Pierre Passebon, the interior designer Laura Gonzalez and the fashion designer Julie de Libran, all of whom she counts as good friends. It’s no surprise, given that she hails from one of Paris’s most creative families: her half-sister is the acclaimed jewellery designer Victoire de Castellane; her uncle, Gilles Dufour, was Karl Lagerfeld’s right-hand man at Chanel; and her younger sister, Pauline Favier-Henin, now runs the lifestyle brand Bloom Paris.

Her childhood, she says, was typically Parisian: she took dance classes on the Champs-Elysées and sipped hot chocolate at the Trocadéro. Through her mother, she met Lee Radziwill and the celebrated antiques dealer and interior designer Madeleine Castaing, who, she says, would often stop by their family home for tea.

In her recent book, Mathilde à Paris (Flammarion, 2024), Favier offers us a glimpse into her world and that of her friends. ‘I get nostalgic for the Paris I grew up in, a Paris that was beautiful and refined, filled with charming people and charming places that you wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else in the world,’ she says. ‘I wanted to create a book about what makes the Paris I love and the people that I love who live here.’ Featuring text by Frédérique Dedet, archival imagery and new photographs by Pascal Chevallier, it takes readers on a journey through the Parisian cafés, shops, studios and secret addresses beloved of Favier and her circle. The result is part mood board, part insider’s guide to the French art of je ne sais quoi — the elusive yet distinctive quality that Parisians have in abundance.

It also includes a chapter on hosting, which is illustrated with photographs of Favier’s former home, a duplex in a 19th-century building in Paris’s 16th arrondissement. ‘It was a charming house,’ she says. ‘I absolutely loved living there.’ The interiors featured a mix of bright colours, textiles and patterns, notably chintz, as well as fine and decorative arts from around the world. She drew inspiration from Hauteville House on Guernsey, where Victor Hugo lived in exile from 1856 to 1870. ‘Every room in that house has a different atmosphere and tells a different story,’ she says. ‘I tried to recreate something similar in my own home.’ The walls of her dining room, for instance, were covered with Indian fabric panels from Simrane, while her bedroom walls were painted with Japanese magnolia flowers.

Shortly after her book’s publication, Favier moved house to start a new chapter with her third husband, Nicolas Altmayer, so the time has come to offer some of her furnishings for sale. ‘The decor of that house reflected my personality and my taste,’ Favier explains of her decision to sell some of her most cherished possessions. ‘I wanted to start afresh with my husband.’

Given the success of her book, Favier thought it would be a good idea to curate a sale featuring pieces from her collection alongside those designed or owned by her friends. She discussed the idea with Cécile Verdier, president of Christie’s France, and was immediately seduced by her enthusiasm and approach. ‘This sale is an opportunity for me to share all the positive and caring energy that the publication of my book has generated,’ says Favier. ‘The idea is to bring together friends and family around a shared vision of Paris and of beauty.’

To get the ball rolling, Favier contacted the friends profiled in her book to see if they wanted to be part of the project, and many of them, to her delight, said yes. And so Mathilde and Friends in Paris was born. The online sale, which runs from 26 January to 4 February 2026, features 121 lots that epitomise Parisian style. It includes fine art, photography, furniture and fashion, as well as 19th- and 20th-century European decorative arts. ‘Everything is really beautiful, charming and in great condition,’ says Favier, who explains that she hand-picked all the lots offered for sale. ‘This is not just a simple auction, but a sale of the soul.’

Soon after the sale goes live for bidding, the lots will be presented in an exhibition at Christie’s in Paris designed by Favier’s close friend, the illustrator and watercolourist Tatiana de Nicolay. ‘Working alongside Mathilde, whom I deeply admire, is always a source of inspiration,’ says de Nicolay. ‘Her cheerfulness, energy and ability to unite her friends around creative projects infuse Paris with a rare and precise vitality.’

Among Favier’s treasures offered for sale are a console table by José Canudo for Jacques Grange, and a pair of ‘Pieds lotus’ by Claude Lalanne, whom Favier met through her uncle, Gilles Dufour. ‘I was lucky to know Claude and François-Xavier really well,’ she says, adding that she would often go to dinner at their house in Ury on Sunday nights as a child.

Also offered for sale is the chintz sofa that appears on the cover of her book. ‘It was the starting point of the sale, as it really epitomises the joyful style of my old house,’ she says with a smile. ‘It’s upholstered in a beautiful Jules & Jim chintz fabric and is in wonderful condition, but it doesn’t fit in with the quiet mood of our new house, so it’s time for it to find a new home.’

As for jewellery, there are signed pieces by Claude Lalanne, Boivin, Chopard, Boucheron and JAR. Favier’s pink flower-shaped earrings by JAR are ‘surprisingly affordable’, she says. ‘They could be a fun and accessible way for a new jewellery collector to start their collection.’ Among Favier’s haute couture ensembles coming to Christie’s is a Chanel dress given to her by Karl Lagerfeld, an Yves Saint Laurent gown embellished with a black bow, and a floor-length silk dress by Julie de Libran, embroidered with sequins and feathers, which was worn by Amal Clooney at the Cartier Women's Initiative Awards in Paris in 2023.

Talk turns to the selection of items offered for sale from the legendary collection of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, courtesy of the makeup artist and beauty entrepreneur Terry de Gunzburg. Among them are a table lamp from 1880, a pair of mirrored screens and a set of 12 emerald-green soup bowls. ‘Terry always sets her dining table with brightly coloured plates and glasses that you won’t see anywhere else,’ says Favier. ‘Her dinners are great fun, because she always invites a brilliant mix of interesting personalities. I respect her taste and innate sense of colour.’

Favier also highlights the wonderfully whimsical dinner service designed by Félix Bracquemond. ‘Entertaining at home is an important Parisian pastime,’ she says. ‘I remember many lively evenings at my uncle’s house, where the dining table was set with this service.’ Favier, too, is known to be a warm and welcoming host. Whether it’s for a grand dinner or an intimate celebration en famille, she always dresses the table artfully, with vibrant placemats, candles, fresh flowers and quirky decorative pieces — such as the centrepiece by Louis Cane offered in the sale. ‘I don’t think there’s anything more chic than to put a sculpture in the centre of your table when you host a dinner,’ she says.

Other sale highlights include ‘Madame Butterfly’, a sculpture of a winged mouse by Claude Lalanne, and a set of two pearl-embroidered Yoruba-style armchairs from the Compagnie du Sénégal et de l’Afrique de l’Ouest. There is also a large screen decorated with swans, by Jean Dunand, from 1932, a black-and-white 2019 photograph of the Palais Garnier by Hiroshi Sugimoto, and a pair of hand-painted navy blue ‘Madras’ armchairs by Laura Gonzalez. ‘I absolutely love them,’ says Favier. ‘They are extremely elegant and so typical of Laura’s style.’

Is she sad to be parting with such treasured belongings? ‘I’ve loved living with these things, but my life has taken a new direction,’ she says. ‘This sale marks a new chapter in their story as they continue their journey. That makes me curious, joyful and extremely happy.’

Mathilde and Friends in Paris is live for bidding from 26 January to 4 February 2026 and on view from 28 January to 4 February at Christie’s in Paris