A Brief History
The origins of Body Aware and Xdress go way back to 1985 when a chance game of squash between David and Kristina in Guangzhou, China, led to a partnership that evolved the outrageous concept that men's underwear did not have to be 1. white 2. ugly, and 3. lacking style. Due to their incredibly skilled machinists, the company expanded rapidly in the 1990's with several labels in production and new mail order catalogs coming out almost monthly. Brands included English Naturals for women's lingerie, American Built for sportswear, David Nicola for racy men's underwear and Body Aware as the core brand of men's underwear. The first BodyAware.com website was launched in June 1996 (15 months before Google!), but the internet was in its infancy, and print catalogs were published for another 10 years. Now there are new brands of men's underwear seemingly coming out weekly, so it is difficult to imagine a time when the choice for men was limited to just a few big name brands offering the same traditional styles. Body Aware was a sensation in the 1990's simply because it was a new concept and Kristina was a regular on daytime TV shows. In 1994 she won a British television competition to find the best and most promising small business. In 1996, David, Kristina and their 2 young daughters moved to Sonoma, California, to set up Body Aware Inc, the USA branch of the company. The Company now proudly makes the majority of its products in USA and all designs, pattern and sample making are still carried out in house. The Xdress brand's origin go back to 1994 after Body Aware started to make lace underwear for men. Lace and men's underwear had never been tried together before, and it proved a sensation. Following feedback and plenty of input from customers, more feminine styles and manufacturing techniques normally only used on women's lingerie were added. The Apres Noir men's lingerie brand produced its first catalog in 1995. Later the name was changed to Xdress. In 1996, David, Kristina and their 2 young daughters moved to Sonoma, California, to set up Body Aware Inc, the USA branch of the company. Several moves later, the company is currently located in Arizona. The company is still family run and now proudly makes the majority of its products in USA and all designs, pattern and sample making, and some production are still carried out in house. There have been many changes in the company over the following years, many great employees have come and gone, but the core mission of Body Aware and Xdress continues to be to bring a little happiness to men who for so long had to put up with unattractive and plain boring underwear! |