Manille is an interpretation of a modernist design by the textile designer Elise Djo-Bourgeois, dating from 1927, printed in France on cretonne. The drawing has the conviction of its decade — geometry set down with confidence, nothing softened for prettiness — and the sturdy cotton ground suits it, keeping the surface matt and workmanlike. It is a piece of design history that still looks forward rather than back, and it earns its place in thoroughly contemporary rooms.
