Born in 1951 in Mjölby, Sweden, Mats Gustafson is a pioneering artist and illustrator whose work has redefined the boundaries of fashion illustration through his use of watercolor and paper cutouts. After studying at the Dramatiska Institutet in Stockholm, Gustafson began his career in stage design, but quickly transitioned to illustration in the late 1970s, a time when fashion illustration had been eclipsed by photography, and the potential of watercolor as a conceptual medium was barely explored. His minimalist approach, characterized by fluid silhouettes and restrained palettes, established a new paradigm in fashion illustration, merging elegance with conceptual clarity.

Gustafson's first editorial commission came in 1978 from Grace Coddington, then the editor at British Vogue. In 1980, he moved to New York, where fashion and portrait commissions for American Vogue and others followed. Under the direction of Franca Sozzani, Gustafson became a frequent contributor to Vogue Italia, where his works were published from the late 1980s through the 1990s. His collaborations with Hermès, Tiffany & Co., Yohji Yamamoto, and Comme des Garçons further cemented his reputation. Since 2012, Gustafson has been the illustrator for every Dior collection, culminating in the publication of Dior by Mats Gustafson (Rizzoli, 2017).

In addition to Dior by Mats Gustafson, his notable monographs include Swan (2010), Watercolors (2013), and Nude (2018). His works have been exhibited internationally and are held in major public collections, including the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, the Roosmuseum in Malmö, and the Nordic Watercolor Museum in Skärhamn.

The artist currently lives and works in New York.

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