Co-design, under the broader scope of human-centred design, refers to an approach, attitude, alternative way of thinking, and engagement with design practice. In an educational context, although limited, scholarship exists around co-design pedagogy, which coincides with the need for future-focused design education, including fashion. However, a research gap exists in terms of student attitudes towards co-design practice. Also, a further gap exists regarding fashion education, in that conventional pedagogies that foster a culture of designer-centeredness and self-expressivity remain at the forefront, with educators reluctant to embrace a co-design pedagogy. Hence, the criticality of fashion education is questionable in terms of its future-focus. Considering the arguments offered, this paper is driven by a two-fold research question: how can co-design pedagogy be implemented in fashion education, and what are students' attitudes towards co-design practice? Aligned with the research question, this paper offers a two-fold aim. The first aim is to situate the implementation of co-design pedagogy with first-year fashion design students at a South African urban higher education institution. The second aim is to draw on empirical research to explore students’ attitudes towards co-design practice. This research was executed through the qualitative research lens rooted in a case study. The case relates to first-year fashion design students’ attitudes towards co-design at a South African, urban higher education institution. Empirical data collection involved artefacts comprising of 22 first-year fashion design students’ written essays, which were analysed via content analysis. The findings reveal that when students are exposed to a future-focused co-design pedagogy and practice, transformation in student mindsets about fashion design practice is evident and yields positive attitudes. Notwithstanding, designer-centeredness and self-expressivity also emerged and generated negative student attitudes towards co-design practice. Considering the above, this paper contributes to the conference theme: DESIGN+ Disruptions, Realities, Futures, by disrupting conventional fashion design education to ensure effective scholarship of teaching and learning through innovative, co-design pedagogy and design practice that can shape futures.