For the fourth and latest M.A.D.EDITIONS release, MB&F has given legendary French artist and designer Jean Charles de Castelbajac (JCDC) free reign on a M.A.D.1, and his colourful interpretation brings a whole new take to this much-loved collection. After blue, red, and green editions, get ready for the first multicoloured M.A.D.1 ‘Time to Love’.
Jean Charles de Castelbajac
The French artist and designer has “rock star” status in the French-speaking world. Now at the age of 74 years, his career has spanned five decades of artistic creation and he is showing no sign of slowing down. He is perhaps best recognized for his pop designs in primary colours, which caught the world’s attention in the 1970s and ‘80s, long before bright colours were even a thing.
He has collaborated with the likes of Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Robert Mapplethorpe, Cindy Sherman, and Jean-Michel Basquiat to name a few, and has made clothes for everyone from Madonna to Drake, Lady Gaga and the Pope. He has always sought to disturb, disrupt, and promote artistic chaos. Where most designers choose to work with the finest quality fabrics, JCDC has always favoured rather unconventional materials, starting with his old boarding school blanket that he turned into a coat. He has also made clothes out of mops, sponges, oil cloths, and teddy bears.
A Fan From the Start
Maximilian Büsser, MB&F’s founder, has been a fan of JCDC since a young boy, even saving up his pocket money to purchase one of the designer’s bathing suits, which was covered in images of pandas. Over the years, Büsser would continue to admire the artist as he evolved and branched out in numerous artistic directions.
The idea of collaborating with JCDC had always been a dream in the back of Büsser’s mind until one day he decided to take action and contact the artist on Instagram. Imagining that his Instagram page was surely run by a whole team of employees, what a surprise it was to receive a message directly from the artist himself to discuss a potential collaboration. The rest, as they say, is history.
The initial idea was to collaborate on an MB&F Horological Machine, but it quickly became apparent that the M.A.D.1 would be a far better fit. So, working with his three favourite colours – red for passion, blue for hope, and yellow for human warmth, JCDC set to work, adorning the M.A.D.1 rotor with his signature trio of colours that were produced in lacquer, along with a touch of green on the hour disc.
Artistic Details
In addition to the colours, the artist has added an inscription which says: “Ce trésor rare et précieux, c’est ta vie. Le temps vole de ses ailes blanches. Tu es le gardien de ton temp,” which translates into English as “This rare and precious treasure is your life. Time flies with its white wings. You are the guardian of your time.” For the numbers, he has used his own handwriting and the crown features an angel talking to the moon, a recurring theme in his work. The straps, – of which there are two, one in white and the other in black – are also quite special as they are crafted in leather and embroidered with the name of the watch “Time to Love”.
How to Get One
The M.A.D.1 “Time to Love” edition will be limited to 999 pieces (previously editions were not limited, only produced in batches and then sold via a raffle system). The raffle for this new piece will open on Wednesday 3rd April at 2pm CET and registrations will remain open for a period of approximately two weeks. Half the 999 will be available for the MB&F Tribe (registered collectors of MB&F pieces) and Friends (suppliers) on a first come, first served basis. The rest will be available to the general public.
For those of you participating, we wish you the very best of luck.
