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For Yinka Ilori, the world is a canvas for optimism. Through vibrant colour and playful design, the British-Nigerian artist infuses everyday objects with joy and meaning. From his childhood to his rise as a celebrated multidisciplinary creative, Ilori has used storytelling to blend cultural heritage, social commentary and aesthetics across diverse mediums.
Driven by a sincere desire to uplift, Ilori transforms everything from London’s greyest corners to custom McLarens into vivid expressions of joy. His work spans multiple disciplines and mediums within the art and design spaces – including architecture, seismic installations, print, fashion, textiles and homeware – with colour and joy infused into every design and project.
Although MB&F’s founder Maximilian Büsser wasn’t specifically looking for a future collaboration for M.A.D.Editions, the partnership with Yinka Ilori was an obvious choice. To honour the artist’s attachment to colour, the solution was obvious: why confine yourself to one watch when you can make three? This vibrant enterprise was Yinka’s first watch collaboration and became a poetic journey across three timepieces, each inspired by Ilori’s guiding mantra. Entitled “Grow Your Dreams”, the series explores three themes, each watch named as such: “Sun”, “Nature”, and “Water” – three limited editions of 400 pieces each.
While the case and movement architecture remain anchored in the calibre that debuted in the M.A.D.1S, this edition pushes design and engineering to new possibilities. Months of dedicated development went into reimagining the rotor, now slimmer and more intricate, without compromising its signature rotation. Each blade is precisely milled with a tree motif, a symbol of hope and growth, revealed with every glance at the wrist.
This is not the only technical challenge to diversify the rotor. Made from titanium, it undergoes anodisation to transform its colour, allowing the creation of three vivid hues: yellow, green and blue. Super-LumiNova highlights the contours of the rotor and illuminates Ilori’s motto etched into its surface: “Grow Your Dreams”. The numbers on the time display are designed by Yinka Ilori.
Pushing the design language further, the bezel reveals a first for M.A.D.Editions: the introduction of colour inside the bezel itself. Instead of relying on conventional PVD coatings, a precision-machined groove is filled with HyCeram, a high-tech liquid ceramic that hardens through heat and is then finished with hand-polishing. To complete the rainbow of colours, the aluminium baseplate features stamped textural waves that ripple under the movement with a 3D effect.
Each model bursts with mismatched colour through its rubber straps: Sun pairs luminous yellow and green; Water blends deep and sky blues; Nature contrasts bold purple with red. Every strap is further detailed with stamped leaf patterns, echoing Ilori’s dreamscape and philosophy. Each version also comes with a second interchangeable white strap, for those occasions when the mismatched colour straps might be just a bit too much.
September 11, 2025