Eastwood Danso Interview

Eastwood Danso Is a talented young designer of Ghanaian descent, born in Germany. Before beginning the journey of cultivating his eponymous brand in 2016 fashion was not Eastwood’s first love, in his early youth athletics were Danso’s focus during his time in Germany due to the influences of his peers. As he developed in his personal identity, Eastwood gravitated to art, graphic design, and even drama during his adolescence.

Eastwood’s self-titled brand was not his first attempt at fashion design, ‘Rattle Apparel’ was the Name of Eastwood’s fashion project as a youth, however this was shut down very quickly. This didn’t stop Danso’s urge to create within the fashion space as his subsequent brands called ‘Paisley Saints’ and ‘East Creation’ followed right after. Unfortunately, the creatively stifling process of GCSE exams were the burial ground for these ideas. As an enthusiastic young creative mind, Danso was ready to align himself within the culture and new beginnings of exciting projects happening within the London Fashion industry. Modelling was something that Eastwood began to indulge in from the perspective of being a fly on the wall of the processes within the structure of the fashion world.

During a rising era of social media, Danso was able to get in touch with someone he sees as a mentor currently. A simple direct message got Eastwood Danso in touch with A-Cold-Wall Founder and Designer Samuel Ross and Danso became one of the lead models for Ross’ 2016 Collection titled ‘SUMMARY’. Danso continued to model for A-Cold-Wall as he developed his own brand whilst studying for his A-Levels. His designs comment on heritage, politics and the economy. Since its inception, Danso had the opportunity to work with Nike who used pieces from his debut collection in their 2017 lookbook. Danso also sites GEO Designs as one of his mentors, as well as Rens Van Mack from Converse, a brand that Danso has a good relationship with, evident in his 1970 Chuck Taylor repurposed sneakers and other experimental silhouettes.

Fast forward to his SS20 presentation titled “Familia Quantum Leap”. Danso began setting the mood for his presentation by releasing some personal photos of his family online, therefore, to showcase how personal the collection is to him. His designs are purposeful, experimental and have a deep rooting into his background in fashion and his background as a man of African heritage.

Familia Quantum Leap is a title representing his growth from his last collection till now. at the turn of the second decade of this century, Danso is growing in his consideration of his clothing and creating unique pieces that inspires his audience. He is a designer with a self-sufficient mentality that applies symbolism into his garments in a subtle fashion.

The Installation during Fashion Week was an immersive experience with an eerie feel. The models stood still on platforms as they showcased the latest pieces from the collection while being surrounded by an artistic representation of nature, some of the models were surrounded by a shallow pool of water making for an excellent show with spectacular sound design.

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