Towel Tales · Shorts
The Rainbow Stripe Shorts
Sewn from a single beach towel. This is the towel's own account of how that happened.
“My name's Mabel. I'm the striped one, every colour, top to bottom.”
Scroll to hear the rest
Chapter one
My first life
- Past life
- A second-hand find
- From
- Valletta, Malta
- Era
- the early 2000s
Started life as a multi-colored striped towel, enjoying summers on a roof terrace overlooking Valletta harbor. Dried swimsuits by the sea, served as a picnic blanket, and even became a favorite dog bed. This faded striped design still pops with all its original colors and sunny nostalgia. Lovingly rescued from a second-hand stall and transformed into a unique pair of shorts by a student.
Chapter two
Becoming something new
The towel The piece Cut, sewn and finished by Lara in February 2026.
Nothing was thrown away that still had use left in it. Drag the handle to see the towel become the piece.
Chapter three
What I saved
Choosing this towel over new fabric kept real weight out of the world's water and air. The figures are estimated from the towel's weight and average new-cotton production, and labelled honestly.
Estimated impact, not a precise measurement. Honest numbers beat tidy ones.
Chapter four
One of one
There is exactly one of me.
- Piece
- RAINBOW-SHORTS-001
- Edition
- 1 of 1
- Finished
- February 2026
- Made by
- Lara
You reached this page through the tag sewn into your piece. Every XUGA garment carries one.