From hand-dyed cloth to resist-dyed leather
Originating in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, Koko Dunda is a hand-dyed cotton cloth whose colours meet and mingle through folding, tying and successive dye baths. Studio Matongé brings this visual language into the home: DUNDA tablecloths and KUMASI cushion covers are now joined by DEÑC-MITI boxes, made in Senegal from wood covered in leather and coloured using a resist-dyeing technique adapted to leather.
Colour shaped by hand
In Koko Dunda cloth, the areas protected from dye guide the colour without fully controlling its path. Each length of fabric bears the traces of folding, tying and successive dye baths. These variations give DUNDA tablecloths and KUMASI cushion covers their rhythm and individual character.
From cloth to decorative objects
With DEÑC-MITI, this visual language takes shape in a different material. The round wooden structure is covered in leather, and the pattern is created by hand directly on the lid, sides and inside using a resist-dyeing technique adapted to leather. The leather is prepared and softened, then folded or crumpled to create areas that resist the dye. Colour is applied without prolonged immersion in a hot dye bath, followed by drying in the shade and a protective finish.
DEÑC-MITI boxes are neither made from Koko Dunda cloth nor covered in bonded fabric. The colour is applied directly to the leather. This distinction honours the original textile craft while making clear how it has been interpreted in another material.
Three families, a shared sense of movement
- DUNDA — tablecloths made from authentic Koko Dunda cloth, hand-dyed in Burkina Faso.
- KUMASI — cushion covers pairing a Koko Dunda front panel with a cotton velvet back.
- DEÑC-MITI — round wood and leather boxes, made in Senegal and resist-dyed by hand in an interpretation of Koko Dunda’s visual language.
Across these materials, the collection explores how colour changes when it meets a new scale, texture and purpose.
Explore the leatherwork behind both designs in our article: DEÑC-MITI and DEÑC-MAJI, from pattern to box.