M.A.D.Editions (by MB&F) has teamed up with British Nigerian multidisciplinary artist and designer Yinka Ilori MBE for a collaboration that takes watchmaking into an unexpected but striking direction. Known for transforming everyday objects and spaces with vibrant colour and optimism, Mr. Ilori brings his philosophy of growth and joy to the M.A.D.1S in a three-piece series called Grow Your Dreams.
Maximilian Büsser, MB&F Owner & Creative Director, said, “Yinka Ilori lives in a universe bursting with colour; his work makes you feel alive, like a rush of adrenaline pushing you to go further. This collaboration has created something that brings joy, a reminder to realise your own dreams.”
Mr. Ilori has built his creative journey around storytelling and the use of colour to uplift. His projects range from large-scale architectural installations and reimagined playgrounds to custom McLarens, textiles, fashion, and even everyday shopping bags stamped with motivational slogans. Across every medium, he has treated design as a way to spark optimism while drawing on his Nigerian heritage and his parents’ belief in nurturing dreams. A recurring motif in his work is the tree, a symbol of patience and hope, reminding him and others that ideas need time to grow.
The collaboration with M.A.D.Editions came about unexpectedly. In the summer of 2023, Mr. Büsser came across Mr. Ilori’s work in a magazine and was immediately drawn to it. Within six days, Mr. Ilori had travelled to Geneva and entered the M.A.D.Editions world, opening the door to a project neither had planned for but both felt compelled to pursue. Together, they created a watch that reflects the courage to dream freely rather than scale ambitions down.
M.A.D.Editions itself was born from gratitude rather than commercial ambition. Conceived by Mr. Büsser in 2021 as a thank-you to the MB&F community, the brand has since developed into a family of watches that carry MB&F’s mechanical creativity in a more accessible way. The M.A.D.1S, launched during Geneva Watch Days 2024, introduced a slimmer design and Swiss-made single-cylinder movement, setting the foundation for this collaboration with Mr. Ilori.
Grow Your Dreams unfolds across three editions of the M.A.D.1S, each limited to 400 pieces and named after natural elements: Sun, Nature, and Water. The watches retain the LaJoux-Perret calibre but evolve with new design and technical details. The titanium rotor has been reimagined with a tree motif and anodized in bold hues of yellow, green, or blue. Super-LumiNova illuminates the contours and highlights Ilori’s motto, Grow Your Dreams, etched on the rotor surface. The time display features numbers designed by Mr. Ilori himself.
For the first time, M.A.D.Editions has also introduced colour inside the bezel, using HyCeram – a liquid ceramic that hardens through heat before being hand-polished. Beneath the movement, a stamped aluminium baseplate creates rippling waves with a three-dimensional effect. Each model is paired with mismatched rubber straps: luminous yellow with green for Sun, deep and sky blues for Water, and purple with red for Nature. Every strap carries stamped leaf patterns to echo Ilori’s tree motif, and an additional interchangeable white strap is included for a subtler option.
Mr. Ilori said, “I’ve always been obsessed with trees. Harvesting and growing them because you invest time in it. It’s pouring love into something you care about, and that starts a conversation. It’s the same for this process, and the way of thinking behind it with Max. You have to be patient and harvest a watch. There are similarities between our universes. Typically, mine are very public, but there’s something very private and public about a watch. Everyone sees it, but it’s you who has that connection with it.”
As with previous M.A.D.Editions, a portion of the Grow Your Dreams pieces will go to MB&F owners and friends on a first come, first served basis. The rest will be offered to the public via a raffle, giving access to purchasing the M.A.D.1S Grow Your Dreams. The raffle opens on September 2 and closes on September 8, 2025.
The Grow Your Dreams series is more than a set of colourful watches. It is a statement about patience, creativity, and possibility, showing how a brand created as a gesture of gratitude and an artist known for turning grey spaces into vibrant canvases can meet on common ground. Each watch is a chance to carry a reminder on the wrist: that dreams are not out of reach, they simply need time to bloom.
