The Omega Workshops were founded in 1913 by the designer and painter Roger Fry (1866-1934). He brought together a group of artists to design furniture, pottery, glass, textiles and entire schemes of interior decoration. Their radically abstract style, typified by this textile, was far ahead of its time and was influenced by developments in contemporary painting.

In keeping with the painting tradition, Fry believed that designs should not be too mechanical and should show evidence of the artist's hand. Achieving such effects on a jaquard loom which was programmed to create absolutely identical repeat patterns would have been impossible. Some irregularity is created in this case by painting or printing parts of the fabric after weaving. 'Cracow' is the only weave-patterned textile associated with the workshops, apart from carpets. It was an upholstery fabric, but in this case Joy Brown, the Omega's seamstress, used it to make an item of 'artistic' dress.