The Ghanaian-German designer’s label, deeply rooted in heritage, draws inspiration from former Ghanaian President, Kwame Nkrumah, and global affairs. Utilizing archival family imagery spanning from the mid-80s to the early-2000s, Eastwood’s collections create an intimate frame of reference through ready-to-wear garments, accessories, and objects.

In his sophomore collection, “Wicked Love”, Eastwood explores the concept of malleable self-determination in an increasingly globalized world. The collection reflects on the Danso family’s journey across hemispheres, offering a deliberate and contemplative examination of human experience.

We recently connected with Danso to discuss post-COVID clarity, his collaboration with Dr. Martens for the collection, and the inspiration behind the name “Wicked Love”.

You’ve just debuted at London Fashion Week. How did the show go?

Yeah, I feel good. I’m happy that it’s over with. I’m happy to be moving on to the next collection and I’m just happy that it’s happened.

What’s life been like following the show?

… I don’t know. We hadn’t shown anything since before COVID so it’s good that we’ve managed to show a collection and get the ball rolling again, you know?

Do you feel like you’ve learned a lot between the two collections releasing?

Once the pandemic hit, I calmed down a bit. It gave me a clearer headspace to think about what I want to do, and how to present things in the best of my ability. I guess it helped me… take everything into perspective.

So, in a sense, COVID was a good thing for you. A blessing in disguise because it let you take a step back?

I’m grateful for everything. I don’t know how things would look [without COVID]. I feel like I would have not been able to develop a few of the styles, choices, and details I’m going with now.

Why the name “Wicked Love” for the show and collection?

“Wicked Love” came about on a night out, just as we were coming out of the pandemic. We went out for a Christmas team dinner with my business partner and some friends and started up a funny conversation about love and the quickness of love. I think it just stuck with me. It connected with the feeling of this collection. It correlated with my family’s migration, from Ghana…

Like [in Ghana], you have this love with your neighbours. When my family came to the West – when my grandfather came to Toronto and when my family came to England – the love they got from their neighbours wasn’t the same as it was at home, you know? So that’s where “wicked love” comes from.

You draw inspiration from Nkrumaism, could you run through your interpretation of the ideology?

Kwame Nkrumah had a vision for Ghana, for breaking away from the imperialism of the United Kingdom and wanting Ghana to be its own independent state. And he was one of the first Ghanaian leaders pushing this ideology. We let outsiders come in and change the vision of the country. But when we broke away from [imperialism], it became a question of “What can we create? What can we become?” and “How can we include the other African countries that haven’t broken away from imperialism?”

Not that you can compare the fashion world to how imperialism has affected Africa and Ghana, but I’m also trying to do my own thing. I’m trying to own my thought process and see how I can break breakthrough, unapologetically, in the right way and the most honest way.

Do you feel like Nkrumaism is more relevant during the current political and economic climate?

In a way, yes, but it’s always played a part in the world. Being from Africa, being from Ghana and growing up in Germany, like… it hasn’t always been nice. When we moved, me and my sister were the only black kids in an all-white school. My Dad was a pastor, so my parents moved us to a Christian school where there were only a few black kids in the school.

Growing up there, you come across kids that haven’t been taught a lot of things, that always ask stupid questions. It’s just manoeuvring and understanding “these kids don’t know anywhere else”. Me and the other black kids would take it upon ourselves to not get too angry but, more time, you do get angry because these kids are poking our hair or asking stupid questions.

But then, coming to England, it was like… seeing so many different cultures, so many different people.

You’ve worked with some huge brands including Converse and Dr. Martens. How do you approach working with different brands?

We come from an approach where we try to add to the brand and to the product. How can we take the different mediums from these brands and how can we explore them? With Dr. Martens, we looked at our collection and thought, what can we add from this to a Dr. Martens shoe?

[In our collection], we added this print from Ghanaian culture. [Indicating to print] each of these have different meanings. [Some] represent creativity, [others] represent understanding what you want to do in life. Putting this all together, we’re trying to create this feeling we had back home. And if you don’t understand them, we want you to learn about them, to understand them and where they come from. And that’s what we try to do with whoever we work with. We’re trying to add our meaning.

What brands and designers inspire you?

In no particular order… Onateri, YRAM STUDIOS, Davounte Williams, Spencer Badu, Riac Oseph, Yaku, Jack Webster, Traiceline Pratt.

What are the plans for the rest of the year?

We’re continuing a bit with the “Wicked Love” campaign. We’re opening a pop-up store either next month, or the month after; we’re opening a “Wicked Love” café where you can buy a few products, like some t-shirts and some other things. But mainly, it will be food-orientated; we’ll have jollof, a plantain curry, plantain fries and some fun dishes where you can come and eat in a curated space.

We’re working on the next collection but we’re not sure if we’ll do a runway, because it’s not sustainable for a young brand. So, we’ll probably do a showroom in June and will be dropping online soon.