Now in its third generation, the company based in Busto Arsizio in the province of Varese, in the Lombardy textile district, has been decorating Italian homes since 1931 with sophisticated tableware and bed linen collections, which are traditional but have been reinterpreted and updated, also made to measure, with particular emphasis on details and trends for unique and timeless products.

Our interview with sisters Maria Pia and Elena Randi, President and CEO of Tessitura Randi

How did Tessitura Randi come into being, what is its history and by which generation of the family is it now headed?

Tessitura Randi was founded in 1931 by Antonio who, the son of a doctor born in Romagna but relocated to Lombardy, decided to leave Italy to gain work experience in Brazil, where he was employed in a textile company. At the end of the First World War, Antonio returned to his family and put the experience he had gained to good use, first as an agent for the Morganti company and then by setting up the first looms in a small shed. Since then, the company has continued to develop, and so has the family (7 children were born, 6 of whom were sons) and the sons gradually joined their father, creating new business lines within the same company (knitting, yarn dyeing, fabric dyeing, printing, packaging), with 3 production plants and more than 300 employees.  Globalisation and the ever-increasing difficulties of the textile sector were felt heavily in the early 2000s, so much so that management had to close all sectors except loom weaving, which is still a benchmark for approximately 500 medium/high-end shops in Italy. Today, the company is run by sisters Maria Pia and Elena Randi, who represent the third entrepreneurial generation. After the closure of the various sectors, a style office dedicated to weaving was also set up, which focused on the creation of table and bed collections (while also continuing the production of the ever-present traditional fabrics: Flanders, jacquard, dyed thread). The meeting with the Borbonese fashion house, of which Tessitura Randi became the licensee for household linen, in 2017 was very important. The partnership between this historic luxury brand and our company has boosted the family brand and renewed freshness to the Borbonese collections (“classic” collection, Kids collection and also giftware).

Do you have sustainable table and bed collections?

During the covid lock-down, we decided we definitely wanted to go the sustainable route and created our first sustainable collection, the Radici collection: tablecloths and table accessories made from recycled linen-blend fabric. The entire package is designed with circularity in mind, which, in our opinion, is the most current and, above all, feasible concept in the world of textiles. Recycling, reuse, respect and responsibility have now become our mantra together with other small but significant steps that the company takes every day to make our product, our company and our approach to the world we live in more sustainable. We can also add that all the fabrics we use for bedding and most of those for the table are B.C.I (better cotton initiative); the papers we use are 90% fsc, the wood blankets manufactured for the Borbonese collection are made from recycled yarn and we also added terry bath towelling lines made of organic cotton. Once again: small steps, but constant and safe steps in the direction of a green approach. We also recently presented the Radici bed collection made from recycled gaberdine. This collection will be delivered to our customer shops for S/S 2024 and will be presented at Milano Home. A small package with a few prints and some plain colours will be delivered in reusable textile bags.

How much has the territory influenced your production and are all your products Made in Italy?

The region has certainly influenced our production, since the Busto Arsizio district is steeped in textile experience and culture. Skilled subcontractors for the production of fabrics, garment laboratories for the most varied hemming, craft companies with state-of-the-art machinery for padding and quilting are found there; 99% of our products are Made in Italy.

What new products will you present at Milano Home?

For Randi we will be presenting the Radici bed project, as well as all the other seasonal products. For Borbonese we will be presenting not only the new bed/table collections, but also giftware.