Dea Kudibal is the label customers most often discover by touching something. It is usually a sleeve, on the way past, and then they stop.
The brand is Danish. It was founded in Copenhagen in 2003 by a designer called Dea, and for the first five years it did not make clothes at all. It made scarves and shawls, on a small scale, and the first clothing collection did not arrive until spring 2008. That order of events explains more about the label than any amount of brand language: it started with cloth and print, and the garments came afterwards.
At a glance
- Danish, founded in Copenhagen in 2003
- Began with scarves and shawls; first clothing line in spring 2008
- Stretch silk is the brand's own stated signature
- Print is the thing people recognise it by, and it changes every season
- Sizing runs XS to XL rather than UK numbers
- Care varies by piece, and some of it is more washable than you would guess
- The stretch silk
- Print, and why it dates well
- What it is like to actually wear
- Care, without guessing
- Frequently asked questions
The stretch silk
The brand calls stretch silk its signature, and says the combination of the quality and its durability is what has kept it in every collection. That is Dea Kudibal's own description rather than ours, but it matches what we see on the rail.
Stretch silk behaves unlike the silk most people have in mind. Ordinary silk is beautiful and slightly unforgiving: it hangs perfectly and it does not move with you. A stretch silk gives across the body, which means a fitted dress stays fitted when you sit down, and a blouse does not pull at the button between the bust.
It also means the pieces survive being worn rather than saved. That is the practical difference and it is the reason the same customers come back for a fourth and fifth piece.
Print, and why it dates well
Print is what the label is recognised for, and it is where a lot of brands go wrong. A print either looks like a specific year or it does not, and the ones that do are usually chasing something.
The Dea Kudibal prints tend to sit slightly apart from whatever is current. The brand talks about a fascination with ethnic pattern and about handmade detail such as embroidery and beading, and the results are painterly rather than graphic. A floral that reads as a painting ages differently from a floral that reads as a season.
The practical upshot for a wardrobe: a printed piece from three years ago still goes out of the wardrobe, which is not true of most print buying.
What it is like to actually wear
Three things worth knowing before you buy your first piece.
- The sizing is alpha, XS to XL. Not UK numbers. That means fewer steps between sizes than you may be used to, so the stretch is doing some of the work a half size would otherwise do.
- The silhouettes are simple on purpose. A wrap dress, a straight blouse, a flared trouser. The print is the event and the shape stays out of its way, which is why the pieces are easier to wear than they look on a hanger.
- It is a separates brand as much as a dress brand. People arrive for the dresses and leave with the trousers.
Care, without guessing
Read the label on the piece you own, and follow it. Care instructions vary across the range far more than the fabric name suggests, and general silk advice is where expensive mistakes start.
To give you a sense of how much it varies: one of the Dea Kudibal silk blouses on our own rail is labelled machine washable, while the silk blouses we stock from another designer are dry clean only. Same fibre, opposite instructions. The label knows things about the weave, the dye and the construction that you cannot see.
What holds generally: clean less often than you think, keep silk out of direct sunlight, deal with a mark straight away rather than letting it set, and store pieces with room around them rather than compressed. If you have lost the label, ring us on 01202 767888 and we will look up what that specific piece says.
The full range sits on the Dea Kudibal page, with the dresses in dresses and the separates across blouses and trousers.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Dea Kudibal from?
Denmark. The label was founded in Copenhagen in 2003 by a designer called Dea, and it began as a small business making scarves and shawls rather than clothing. The first Dea Kudibal clothing collection launched in spring 2008. That history matters to how the clothes look, because the brand came to garments from cloth and print rather than the other way round.
What is stretch silk and how is it different?
Stretch silk gives across the body where conventional silk does not. The brand names it as its signature and points to the durability as much as the luxury. In practice it means a fitted dress stays fitted when you sit down and a blouse does not pull between the buttons, so the pieces get worn regularly rather than saved for occasions. It is the single biggest reason customers come back for more than one piece.
What size should I take in Dea Kudibal?
The range is sized XS to XL rather than in UK numbers, so there are fewer steps between sizes than you may be used to and the stretch in the fabric absorbs some of that. Fit the shoulder first. If you are between two sizes, or it is your first piece from the brand, ring the boutique on 01202 767888 and we will tell you how that particular style comes up rather than generalising about the label.
How do I care for a Dea Kudibal piece?
Follow the care label on that specific garment. Instructions vary considerably across the range, more than the word silk would suggest: one of the silk blouses on our rail is labelled machine washable while silk blouses from other designers we stock are dry clean only. Beyond the label, clean less often than you think, keep silk out of direct sunlight, treat marks quickly and store pieces with room around them.
Do Dea Kudibal prints date quickly?
Less than most printed clothing, in our experience of selling it. The prints are painterly rather than graphic and tend to sit slightly apart from whatever is current, which is what stops them looking like a specific year. A printed piece bought a few seasons ago still comes out of the wardrobe, and that is not true of most print buying. It is also why the brand suits a wardrobe built around pieces that earn their place.
Written by No19 Boutique
No19 Boutique curates European designer womenswear from 19 Westbourne Arcade in Bournemouth, chosen for quality, cut and considered design. The team knows the brands properly and will tell you honestly what suits you, in store and online across the UK.