Camille Walala is an East London-based textile, graphic, and interior designer influenced by the Memphis movement, the Ndebele tribe, and op-art master Victor Vasarely.
The irreverent French artist harnesses optimistic typography and exuberant geometries to create entire environments that stimulate the senses and inspire pure joy. Why for me her collaboration with the British iconic after dinner Christmas treat staple After Eight is an obvious pairing.
Her work encompasses full-facade murals, immersive 3D installations, street art, interiors, and set design. So some may imagine a limited edition chocolate box is outside her remit.
Me on the other hand see her recognisable work in White City and Leyton, East London easily transferred to the wafer thin chocolate mints, After Eights even the Monty Python crew captured their irresistible nature in the “one more wafer thin mint” gag “Finally Monsieur a wafer thin mint” the exact quote, of Mr Creosote in The Meaning Of Life, repeated by people all over the world when being so gluttonous they believe they may actually explode. The new box design didn’t stop me eating 10, wafer thin mints until I felt a little over done, the new box design however much admired didn’t stop us opening the early Christmas gift either.
It’s a reference that has come to mean for certain foods the inability to stop consuming them; After Eights for many enjoys this status and perhaps why the particular reference was chosen in the first place by the Monty Python writers John Cleese, Terry Jones, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin.
In the UK After Eights will always be connected for me and especially at Christmas.
Camille Wahala practice has taken her all over the world to transform homes and workspaces with her signature tribal-pop style, which has been beautifully and stylishly transferred to the totally collectible After Eight box. Whilst based on the UK the French artist has become a recognizable force on London’s street art scene with her joyful murals and colorful installations so to see her work on a significantly smaller but commercially more expansive scale, possibly in almost every home in the UK Christmas 2025 is a joyous exposure for a widely appreciated super talented artist, into a market that perhaps would never have seen her work or ever heard of her.
Personally I’d love to see more deep rooted established brands like After Eight, made by food giant Nestle, but created by Rountree in 1962 elevating creative talent in this way and catapulting them swiftly into the main stream so a much wider audience get exposed to their work.
This is so good for nurturing artistic talent and providing a cultural cross over into the main stream for creatives to connect with an audience they perhaps may not otherwise reach.
I will be buying one more to keep for posterity. The challenge will be, will we be able to refrain from opening it. To be admired for years to come like any other great work of art.