"Co-design is an inclusive approach for fashion designers working with traditional crafts": Exploring ethics of craft collaborations in design education

Abstract: Despite being a key contributor to the Indian fashion design industry, traditional artisans are often exploited in the name of help. Designers have been exploiting both the aesthetic style and skills of the traditional artisan communities. In absence of equal opportunities, trends indicate many artisans are leaving their practice. This paper suggests co-design as a way forward for designers to collaborate with traditional artisans. Co-design is proposed over the top-down approach of design intervention where a designer or design students provides design for artisan to follow. It is advocated to introduce co-design as a component in design education as more ethical pedagogy. The essays present two case studies of collaboration between design students and traditional artisans as a methodology. The findings suggest co-design as a creatively, more enriching approach for both designers and artisans when collaborating.

Practical Implications: The essay concludes with implications for designers and design students to consider for an ethically sustainable collaboration. The co-design approach allows the artisan agency to innovate within their heritage craft, thus addressing the problem of appropriation and exploitation.