Strengthening National Identity through Co-Design

A Contemporary and Sustainable Approach to Dress Design in Tanzania

Abstract

This study investigates how national identity can be strengthened through the co-design of a contemporary and sustainable dress that integrates traditional textiles, national symbols, and participatory design methodologies. The research is grounded in theories of national identity, material culture, and creative industries, conceptualising dress as a medium of symbolic communication and performative nationhood. An interpretivist paradigm informed by Cooperative Inquiry within an action research framework guided the study. Qualitative methods were employed, including purposive interviews, focus group discussions, and co-design workshops involving policymakers, religious leaders, designers, artisans, tailors, and dress users from rural and urban contexts. Data were analysed inductively through thematic interpretation. Findings reveal a strong consensus that a nationally symbolic dress should be culturally appropriate, modest, affordable, comfortable, and reflective of Tanzanian values. Participants emphasised the use of kitenge fabric, artistic integration of national colours, and motifs derived from Mount Kilimanjaro, wildlife, traditional vessels, and mineral resources. Prototype designs received broad public acceptance. The study contributes to scholarship at the intersection of national identity, co-design, and sustainable fashion by demonstrating how participatory co-design and sustainable textile practices can materialise national identity through culturally grounded creative production. Motif-based kitenge patterns were developed, tested, and refined through participatory processes, alongside a conceptual production and distribution model designed to support artisan engagement, youth employment, and integration with the tourism sector. Collectively, the study offers a practical, replicable framework for integrating identity discourse into contemporary fashion design in postcolonial contexts, particularly in Tanzania.