yinka ilori brings punchy color and botanical motifs with M.A.D.editions watch

artist yinka ilori turns his hand to watchmaking

British Nigerian multidisciplinary artist and designer Yinka Ilori has created his first watch collaboration with M.A.D.Editions, bringing his vibrant design language to the M.A.D.1S in a three-part series titled Grow Your Dreams. Each of the limited editions (Sun, Nature, and Water) infuses Swiss watchmaking with Ilori’s guiding philosophy of optimism and growth.

The collaboration began unexpectedly when MB&F founder Maximilian Büsser encountered Ilori’s work in a magazine. Within a week, the artist was in Geneva, exploring the mechanics and imagination of M.A.D.Editions. The project became an opportunity to translate Ilori’s world of color and storytelling onto the wrist, a new scale for him.

‘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,’ says Büsser.

M.A.D.Editions and Yinka Ilori present the Grow Your Dreams series | images courtesy M.A.D.Editions

ilori’s signature color palette for the wrist

Each edition of the Yinka Ilori-designed M.A.D.1S watch carries a distinct palette. Sun pairs a yellow rotor with green strap accents, Nature combines a green rotor with purple and red straps, and Water contrasts blue shades across rotor and strap. All three feature a secondary white strap, offering flexibility for wear.

The artist‘s design language is embedded throughout. The numbers on the dial carry his typographic imprint, while the strap embossing references his recurring tree motif, a symbol of patience and growth. The rotor, engineered from titanium and anodized for color, reveals a delicate tree pattern that glimmers with movement, highlighted by the etched phrase ‘Grow Your Dreams’.

the series includes three limited editions: Water, Nature, and Sun

m.a.d.editions’ innovation in detail

While the M.A.D.1S platform is familiar to watch collectors, this edition by Yinka Ilori introduces a number of firsts. HyCeram, a liquid ceramic hardened by heat, brings color directly inside the bezel, finished by hand-polishing. Beneath the movement, an aluminum baseplate is stamped with textural waves, creating a rippling 3D effect that shifts under light.

The mechanical foundation remains the slim LaJoux-Perret calibre introduced in the M.A.D.1S during Geneva Watch Days 2024. With its high-performance rotor re-engineered for both intricacy and durability, the watch balances technical precision with expressive design.

a rotor is engraved with a tree motif symbolizing growth and hope

Design, for Ilori, has always been about storytelling, community, and hope. He has created larger scale projects like playgrounds and bridges as well as human-scale works like furniture and fashion. His work embodies a belief that ‘everyday life can be transformed by color and joy.‘

‘I’ve always been obsessed with trees,’ Yinka Ilori explains. ‘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.‘

colorful rubber straps echo Ilori’s playful approach to design