Woxer: Underwear Made for Everyone

Alexandra Fuente, founder and CEO of Woxer, has strong opinions on underwear. She dislikes complex lacy panties and has a particular abhorrence for thongs, an invention that seems to baffle her.

“In high school, I found it so awkward that I would have to wear slacks for a basketball game… and when I would wear panties, I would have panty lines, and I hated panty lines,” Fuente says. She tried Nike Pros but, “Back in the day (Nike Pros) were made for men, football players, things like that. The bulge was annoying, irritating, and not good for the skin. And that was a huge pain point of mine.” She even tried getting men’s boxer briefs professionally tailored, but to no avail.

Fed up with her failing tactics and fueled by years of underwear-related frustrations, Fuente decided enough was enough. If she couldn’t find quality underwear, she would make her own. In 2011, she designed the first Woxer prototype, but it took Fuente eight years to learn how to run a business, and how to “make mistakes,” she says. In 2019, her years of effort finally came to fruition and Woxer, an inclusive, game-changing underwear brand, launched.

Fuente explains that the biggest difference between Woxers and men’s boxers is the waistband, material, and fit. “We make sure (the waistband) doesn’t dig. I think the fabric is a huge differentiator as well. We use very specialized material, right?” she says. Woxers are made from TENCEL™ Modal fibers, which are extracted from naturally grown beech wood. The TENCEL™ website states that “standard Modal fibers are biodegradable and compostable under industrial, home, soil, and marine conditions, thus they can fully revert back to nature.”

“(Woxers) are made especially to be breathable, to be healthy,” Fuente says. “(Modal) is not only good for the environment… but it’s also very good for the human body, and super soft.” Fuente says Woxers feel like a hug—supportive, but not tight, and the company offers nine different types of underwear to help their customers achieve this fit.

But Woxer is more than an underwear brand. It’s a brand that celebrates and promotes diversity. “I think (Woxers) resonate a lot with the LGBTQ community because, first of all, I’m part of it,” Fuente says. “When I go to pride events, and I see other people wearing boxers or men’s boxers or things like that, the reason why is because we’ve never had something made for us. I flipped that.” The Florida-based company has donated underwear to Miami’s Pridelines and partners with other LGBTQ-owned organizations like Girls in Wonderland. Woxer also has a year-round Pride collection that features a rainbow logo on the waistband and offers expanded Pride options in June.

Fuente explains that while her original inspiration for Woxers was boxers for women (hence the name, Woxers), the product is intentionally genderless and ultimately made for everyone. “We’re not naming things boy shorts. We are not giving it a gender,” she says. “We’re naming (them) things that are inspirational for anybody. Baller is our main bestseller. We have underwear called Star, Boss, Icon, and Dreamer. So the experience at the end is, you have a good product mixed with something that’s not judgey. Anybody can see themselves wearing boxer briefs regardless of your needs: You’re 65 years old; you’re postpartum; your kid is going to high school. So it’s really made for comfort and happiness with zero judgment.”

Photo courtesy of Woxers