M.A.D.1 Time to Love
In 2024, Legendary French artist and designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac turns his hand to watchmaking, becoming the first creator to collaborate on a M.A.D.1 - giving birth to a limited edition of 999 pieces.
Overview
“Jean-Charles de Castelbajac represents five decades of creativity. Very early on, he was able to create a unique voice and style, then over the years pivot, reinvent himself and challenge the status quo. Today, at the age of 74, his message of love and life is more than ever an example for the new generation.”
Maximilian Büsser
About Jean-Charles de Castelbajac
As a young man in the 1980s, MB&F founder Maximilian Büsser adored the French artist and designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac for his avant-gardist pop designs in primary colours. Over the years, his respect for JCDC continued to grow as he observed the artist from afar. Collaborations with artists such as Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Robert Mapplethorpe, Cindy Sherman, and Jean-Michel Basquiat further increased his awe.
JCDC has never been a conventional designer, always daring to disturb, disrupt, and promote artistic chaos. Where most Couture designers seek out the finest quality fabrics, JCDC made clothes out of unconventional materials like his old boarding school blanket, mops, sponges, and oil cloths, being the first to upcycle in the fashion world, before it was even a thing!
With a career spanning five decades, the French designer has always had a multidisciplinary approach to his work, connecting different worlds to further explore his art. He is perhaps best known for his audacious creations like the teddy bear coat, his “poncho for two”, his Barack Obama dresses, and the robes he created for Pope John Paul II and his Papal entourage for World Youth Day in 1997.
My relationship with time is unique. I am often “before or after hours”: before in my vision, after in my satisfaction. But when it’s time to love, I am always on time.
Jean-Charles de Castelbajac
Inspiration
‘Time to Love’ is not just a catchy name but a genuine philosophy for the artist who uses his work to spread love, peace and spirituality– a message that couldn’t be more poignant today.
The initial thought was to collaborate on an MB&F Horological Machine, but it quickly became evident that the M.A.D.1 – from the brand’s parallel more accessible label, M.A.D.Editions – would be the perfect canvas for JCDC. Working with his three iconic colours – red for passion, blue for hope, and yellow for human warmth – he has adorned the M.A.D.1 rotor with his signature colourway that is produced in lacquer on a newly-engineered rotor, where one of the wings is slightly heavier than the other two to optimize spinning. A bright green is also present and featured on the piece’s hour disc – another colour close to Castelbajac’s heart and linked to childhood memories.
Continue to
M.A.D.1 GREEN
M.A.D.1 RED
