David Koma Real vs Fake: Style Codes, Barcodes, Labels and the Embroidery Test
David Koma Real vs Fake: Style Codes, Barcodes, Labels and the Embroidery Test
A fake David Koma is easy to sell online because the shape is easy to copy and the photograph hides the rest. The rest is what this page is about: the labels, the style code, the barcode, the fabric, the lining, the embroidery and the security seal that a genuine piece carries, and the tells that a copy cannot manage. It is written for the resale buyer, the gift recipient and the customer checking a delivery, and it names the exact marks to look for on the pieces in stock at Luxury Shoes .
Key facts
- Style codes: current David Koma pieces carry a code in the format season + year + DK + number + garment letters, so PF26DK34DA is a pre-fall 2026 dress, SS26DK12DL a spring-summer 2026 long dress (gown), RE26DK26DTRA a resort 2026 denim trouser; colourways are appended, as in SS26DK01D BLACK.
- Barcodes: the brand issues an EAN-13 per size beginning 506, the GS1 prefix for the United Kingdom, and Luxury Handbags records it on each product; a listing with a barcode that does not begin 506 is not a current UK-issued David Koma piece.
- Fabric and lining: the house declares the composition on every product page, a viscose, acetate and elastane cady, a triacetate-polyester satin, a viscose-polyester lining, and the embroidery fibre separately (“100% Glass” for crystal); a piece with no lining and no fibre label is not a Koma.
- Made in: the care label reads Made in the United Kingdom on most pieces, Made in Turkey on the denim and Made in China on the knits, matching the brand’s own product page for that style.
- Luxury Handbags sells only the brand’s authentic ready-to-wear with labels and security seals attached, ships it insured, and accepts a return within 14 days if anything on this list is missing.
Read the style code
Every current piece has a code on its care label and on its hang tag, and the house format is consistent enough to decode. The first four characters are the season and year: SS26 for spring-summer 2026, RE26 for resort 2026, PF26 for pre-fall 2026, AW for autumn-winter. Then DK for the house, a two-digit style number, and letters for the garment type: D for dress, DL for a long dress, DA and DLA for an alternate cut of the same style, T for a top, TS for a T-shirt, TR for trousers, J for a jacket, S for a skirt, BS for a bodysuit, DJ, DS and DTR for the denim pieces, KN in the middle for a knit. The Crystal Star And Straps Midi Dress is PF26DK34DA; the Cactus Dahlia Detail Gown is SS26DK12DL; the 3D Flower Jeans In Indigo carry RE26DK26DTRA with the colourway DENIM INDIGO appended. A listing that describes a 2026 piece with a code that does not follow the pattern, no code at all, is not describing a current David Koma.
Check the barcode and the labels
The brand issues a 13-digit EAN barcode for every size of every style, and the first three digits are 506, the GS1 company-prefix range for the United Kingdom. Luxury Handbags records the barcode against each product. A genuine care label carries the composition of the main fabric, the lining and the embroidery as separate lines, the care instruction, usually “Delicate Dry Clean”, and the country of manufacture. Two things give copies away here. First, they rarely list the embroidery fibre, because the copy is not embroidered. Second, the country is wrong: the cady, satin and jersey dresses are made in the United Kingdom, the denim in Turkey, the knits in China, and a “Made in the UK” label on a knit, a “Made in China” label on a cady gown, does not match the house.
Look at the cloth, the lining and the zip
Pick the dress up. A Koma cady dress is heavy for its size because of the lining, and the lining is a separate cloth, viscose and polyester, not a second layer of the shell. The seams are pressed flat and the raw edges are enclosed. The zip is hidden, and it closes to the top of the neckline without a hook; the brand’s product pages say “fastens with a hidden zip closure at the back” on almost every dress. On a corseted piece there is boning you can feel through the lining. Copies use a single layer of stretch fabric, an exposed zip with a hook and eye, and no boning, because those are the expensive parts. The Crystal Leaf Corset Top is the clearest example: the original weighs what a small jacket weighs.
Look at the embellishment in close-up
This is the test that ends most arguments. The house’s crystal is glass, hand-applied, each stone set with a clear edge and no glue visible around it; the 3D flowers on the 3D Lace Flower And Corset Gown are cut, layered and stitched, not printed; the sequins are stitched in rows that follow the seams; the feathers are real ostrich and are declared so. Ask a seller for a photograph of the embroidery at arm’s length and one at ten centimetres. A copy shows glue haloes around plastic stones, flowers that are flat appliques, sequins that stop at a seam because the panel was cut from embellished yardage rather than embroidered after cutting. On a piece like the Cactus Dahlia Detail Gown the embroidery is the price, and it is the one thing a copy cannot fake at any price.
Where the copies come from
Three kinds of listing account for nearly all the fakes. Marketplace “dupes” that use the house name in the title but never claim to be the brand: these copy the Star Cutout Long Sleeve Mini Dress and the cut-out gowns, and are a different, single-layer dress. Resale listings of genuine older pieces with a wrong description, most often a Mugler-era dress described as David Koma, which is a labelling error rather than a fake: the neck label says Mugler. And outright counterfeits with a copied label, which fail the code, the barcode, the lining and the embroidery tests above. Rental stock is generally genuine but worn; check the seals on a hire the same way you would on a purchase.
Buying safely
From the brand and from Luxury Handbags the question does not arise: every piece ships with its labels and security seal, and Luxury Shoes ’s 14-day return covers anything that arrives without them. Second-hand, buy from a platform that authenticates, ask for the care label, the code and the embroidery in close-up, and compare against the brand’s own product page for that style, which lists the exact composition. Where to buy David Koma names the stockists whose designer pages were verified.
“The brand aesthetic is best described in 3 words: seductive, feminine and timeless,” the house writes on davidkoma.com. “David Koma DNA is based on sculptural and sensual pieces created to instill confidence and empower.”
Frequently asked questions
How can I tell if a David Koma dress is real?
Check the style code on the care label (season, year, DK, style number, garment letters), the 13-digit barcode beginning 506, the separate fabric, lining and embroidery lines, the country of manufacture, the hidden zip and the lining, and the embroidery in close-up.
What does a David Koma style code look like?
PF26DK34DA, SS26DK12DL, RE26DK26DTRA: season and year, DK, a style number, and letters for the garment type, with the colourway appended on some pieces.
Where are real David Koma dresses made?
In the United Kingdom for the cady, satin, jersey and tailoring, Turkey for the denim, China for the knits. The care label should match the brand’s product page for that style.
Does David Koma use real crystals?
The house declares the embroidery fibre as “100% Glass”: hand-applied glass crystal and rhinestone, set without visible glue. Plastic stones with glue haloes are the sign of a copy.
Are David Koma dresses lined?
Yes, the cady and satin dresses are lined in a separate viscose-polyester cloth and the corseted pieces are boned. A single-layer stretch dress is not a David Koma.
Is Luxury Handbags an authorised David Koma stockist?
Luxury Handbags sells the brand’s authentic ready-to-wear with its labels and security seals, shipped insured, and accepts a 14-day return if anything is missing.
Read next
Read where to buy David Koma, the materials guide and the David Koma glossary. Shop the David Koma collection at Luxury Shoes .
More David Koma guides
Every David Koma page by Luxury Shoes ’s fashion editor Gemma Deeks: Is it a luxury brand?, Brands like David Koma, How to wear, Which dress to buy, Who is David Koma?, History timeline, Size guide, Price guide, Where to buy, Sale, Review, Materials and care, Glossary, Mugler and Blumarine, Who wears it, Pre-fall 2026 Supergirl edit, Spring-summer 2026 edit, Resort 2026 edit, vs Alexander McQueen, vs Safiyaa, Gowns, Mini dresses, Midi dresses, Tops, Jackets and tailoring, Jeans and denim, Trousers, Skirts, Wedding dresses, Wedding-guest dresses, Crystal dresses, 3D flower and lace, Sequins, Feathers, Cut-outs, Satin and velvet, Corsets, Black, White and ivory, Red and pink, Yellow, blue and green.
Sources and method
Checked on 18 September 2026 by Gemma Deeks, fashion editor at Luxury Shoes . Product facts, the compositions, linings, embroidery fibres, care lines and country of manufacture, are the brand’s own product-page text; counts, prices and price ranges are Luxury Shoes ’s live catalogue on that date and move with stock; the designer’s biography and the house history come from the brand’s own About page and the press articles listed below, each read on the date above; the size chart is the brand’s own. Where a claim could not be checked against one of these it was left out, and where the fitting room is giving its own advice the page says so.
- davidkoma.com, About us: the brand story, the brand vision and the designer biography in the house’s own words
- davidkoma.com, Size guide: the UK, Italy, US, France and Japan conversion chart and the body measurements by UK size
- davidkoma.com, Delivery and returns: dispatch, delivery windows, duties and the 14-day returns window on the brand’s own store
- David Koma product pages: the description, composition, lining, embroidery, care and made-in lines of every style (306 pages saved 18 September 2026)
- David Koma on Wikipedia and its cited articles
- Wikidata Q5236101
- London Fashion Week, designer profile: David Koma
- Luxury Handbags live catalogue, 18 September 2026: prices, sizes and stock
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