Entrepreneur
Femtech fashion: the founder behind the breast leak leisurewear you didn’t know you needed
When mum-of-two Leigh Coggiola-Belza launched Leaxy she had one mission in mind: to change the way we talk, think and feel about boobs. She tells us the story behind her breast leak leisurewear brand and why femtech fashion is here to stay.
Can you tell us a bit more about your background?
Absolutely. I’d say, at the heart of everything, there are two things I’m drawn to. For one, I love connecting with other human beings. And two, I’m drawn to solving age-old problems with new ways of thinking.
Before launching Leaxy, I worked in sports and advertising, where I loved trying to figure out how to drive a deeper moment of connection and feeling for our consumers and fans.
Whether it was trying to fan the flames of passion during a game or spark a moment of intrigue with a clever idea in advertising, I loved trying to figure out how to make people feel more connected to the world around them.
I think that’s what made Leaxy’s conception so inevitable for me, as Leaxy is all about building human connection. My hope is that we make people feel less alone and more empowered to advocate for themselves and their needs in a world that can often times feel silenced when it comes to women’s unique health issues.
Leaxy is a community where people can feel free to come as they are – with leaky boobs, or not.
What inspired you to create Leaxy?
Creating Leaxy was really pretty serendipitous in that I, myself, had really leaky boobs the entire time I was feeding my two little girls. Every night, I was laying in my milk-soaked tops covered in leaking breast milk, feeling absolutely miserable.
One day after 13 months, I woke up and thought, “This is absolute insanity. I can’t keep living like this.” And that’s what inspired me to create Leaxy – creating a viable solution for my own leaking boobs.
How would you describe your innovation in a few words?
Leaxy is breast leak leisurewear designed to absorb leaking breast milk. We design innovative garments for the age-old problem of leaking breasts.
Femtech fashion is quite a new concept. How did you find establishing your business in this sector?
Femtech fashion is definitely a newer concept, and isn’t that crazy? Women’s unique health issues have been around for how long? And yet, here we are finally diving into fashionable garment design that focuses on women’s health.
Creating Leaxy in this sector has been a series of, “How did this not exist before?”
I’m constantly researching other femtech fashion brands, and I’m shocked at how these truly brilliant concepts had not been invented prior. It’s exciting to be a part of a sector that, no doubt, will continue to innovate and excite.
What obstacles have you encountered?
I think one of the biggest obstacles I’ve encountered is shifting the stigma on leaking breasts. Many people have felt silenced or ashamed to talk about this common issue because we live in a society where breasts can often be viewed as an object of sexual desire.
The reality is, the role of your boobs is up to your individual preferences. There are many roles your boobs can play, and choosing to view them as a source of nourishment for your child should be celebrated.
Many women have felt silenced or ashamed to talk about leaking breasts, says Leigh
Where are you with the business now?
We’re currently selling our Brooklyn leakproof nursing tank, that I’m obsessed with, through our website. We’re also working on a new, innovative design that I’m really excited about. It’s going to be bringing together the worlds of sexy, chic with leaky boobs.
What are your goals for the rest of the year?
I want to continue having important conversations about how we think, feel and talk about women’s bodies, specifically with leaking breasts and breastfeeding.
We’ll continue to visit a range of important topics through our Boob Blog. The other big goal is that I want to start gearing up to get into retail. Leaxy deserves to be on shelves where women who need extra support after having baby are.
Where do you see Leaxy in five years?
I envision Leaxy continuing to have conversations that shift how we view women’s bodies. We leak. Get over it. I also envision Leaxy becoming available throughout the world to help support more people with leaky boobs.
How about the concept of femtech fashion?
As more people continue to stand in their own power, the more we’ll see revolutionary innovations in femtech fashion be born. Femtech fashion is here to stay, and watch out for where it’s going to go.
I envision femtech fashion becoming a pillar in fashion, a mainstay that celebrates and nurtures the realities that half this world’s population face every day. I can’t wait to see it.
You have until Friday to nominate your femtech company of the year.
The award is one of 10 featuring at Femtech World’s third annual awards event, which attracts entries from across the UK, EU and Europe.
The Company of the Year Award is for companies that have demonstrated exceptional leadership in tackling women’s health needs through groundbreaking products, services or platforms that are shaping the future of global femtech.
If your company is driving innovation, impact and growth in this space, this award was made for you.
About the sponsor: Femovate
The category is backed by Femovate, the global femtech incubator using design to fuel innovation across every stage of a woman’s health journey, from proactive prevention through to personalised treatment.
Femovate has invested over US$2 million in design capital, working side-by-side with founding teams to bring market-ready solutions to life.
The startups it supports have collectively raised US$120 million, launched 30 products, and secured seven FDA clearances.
Why enter?
The Femtech World Awards are free to enter.
Winners and shortlisted companies receive extensive coverage across all Femtech World platforms.
Winners will also receive a trophy and the opportunity to be featured in an interview for the publication.
Find out more about the Femtech World Award and enter here by 4pm BST on Friday 17.
By Chaitra Vedullapalli, founder and president, Women in Cloud
Today’s leaders are carrying more than responsibilities.
They are carrying caregiving roles, financial pressures, legal complexities, and the quiet emotional weight of sustaining performance in unpredictable times.
And yet, most leadership forums still focus on productivity, growth, and scale, rarely addressing the human systems that enable sustained leadership.
At Women in Cloud, we believe the next generation of leadership will not be defined by endurance alone, but by discipline, preparation, and self-respect.
That is why we are proud to announce the #WICxWellness Summit 2026: The Disciplined Advantage.
This is a wellness summit focused on leadership preparedness.
Why This Summit Matters Now
Across our global community, a clear pattern has emerged.
- More professionals and executives are quietly navigating:
- Life-threatening health crises, personally or within their families
- Financial stress caused by medical, caregiving, or business shocks
- Legal and healthcare decisions with long-term consequences
- Career interruptions due to caregiving responsibilities
- Chronic exhaustion, grief, and emotional isolation
These experiences are widespread, yet rarely discussed in executive settings.
#WICxWellness 2026 brings these realities into the open with compassion, clarity, and practical guidance, so leaders can prepare, adapt, and continue forward without breaking.
This is wellness as a leadership discipline.
What We Will Explore
This year’s summit is designed to provide grounded, immediately applicable insights for founders, executives, and senior leaders.
Executive Function Under Chronic Stress
Keynote with Jennifer Brown
Focus Areas:
- Understand how chronic stress alters judgment, focus, and emotional regulation
- Identify early warning signs of cognitive overload in leadership roles
- Adaptability as a Cognitive Anchor: Navigating rapid change without compromising decision-making.
- Resilience Through Connection: Building human-centric teams to mitigate the stress of uncertainty.
- Navigating Change with Emotional Intelligence: Regulating stress responses to maintain clarity and empathy.
- Systemic Agility in High-Pressure Environments: Creating foundations of psychological safety that protect organizational function
Labs That Matter (And What to Do With Them)
Fireside Chat with Chelsey Galipeau and Chaitra Vedullapalli
Focus Areas:
- Which health tests are worth the time and investment
- Interpreting results without panic
- Preventive strategies for executive longevity
- Avoiding unnecessary medical spending
Caretaking Without Collapse
Panel With Karen Fassio, Anca Platon Trifan, Scilla Andreen, Clara Schroeder, Sheena Yap Chan
Focus Areas:
- Managing family and professional demands without burnout
- Setting humane boundaries
- Building sustainable support systems
- Ending silent sacrifice in leadership
Food as a Stability System (Not a Diet)
Fireside Chat with Nancy Watt and Meagan T. Copelin
Focus Areas:
- Nutrition for sustained energy and clarity
- Blood sugar and decision-making
- Realistic eating during travel and stress
- Food as operational resilience
Autoimmunity, Hormones & Cardiac Risk in Real Life
Fireside Chat with Dr. Linda Bing
Focus Areas:
- Managing invisible health risks
- Hormonal transitions and stamina
- Flare prevention at work
- Energy mapping for leadership performance
A Different Kind of Leadership Conversation
At Women in Cloud, we have learned something fundamental:
Performance is visible. Discipline is invisible.
Yet discipline determines whether leaders can serve, build, and lead over decades, not just quarters.
The Disciplined Advantage is about building that resilience intentionally.
Through science, lived experience, and practical frameworks, this summit equips leaders to:
- Anticipate strain instead of reacting to a crisis Design sustainable work rhythms
- Protect cognitive and emotional capital
- Lead from grounded strength
This is leadership infrastructure for the next decade.
Join Us
If you are a founder, executive, technologist, or senior professional navigating complexity and determined to lead well without sacrificing your health, clarity, or longevity, this summit is for you.
The #WICxWellness Summit 2026 is where performance meets preservation. Where ambition meets sustainability. Where leadership becomes truly durable.
We look forward to welcoming you. The Disciplined Advantage begins here.
Secure your spot: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wicxwellness-summit-2026-tickets-1981616382945?aff=oddtdtcreator
Femtech World is continuing the search for a company to be crowned Startup of the Year.
The award is one of 10 to feature at the third annual Femtech World Awards.
The Startup of the Year Award celebrates an early-stage company making a bold impact in women’s health through innovation, vision and execution.
The winning startup will have demonstrated strong potential to transform care, accessibility, or awareness in women’s health with a scalable solution.
Consideration will be given to innovation, market traction, inclusivity, impact and the ability to address unmet needs.
The award is sponsored by Future Fertility.
The company is transforming fertility care with AI-powered solutions that close critical information gaps along the IVF journey.
Its clinically validated, non-invasive tools analyse oocyte images to predict each egg’s reproductive potential, supporting decision-making across key pathways: VIOLET™ for egg freezing, MAGENTA™ for IVF-ICSI, and ROSE™ for donor programmes and egg banks.
These reports deliver personalised insights into egg quality and ploidy potential, empowering patients and clinicians to make more informed decisions regarding next steps.
Today, Future Fertility’s technology is used in more than 300 clinics across 35+ countries.
Developed with the world’s largest oocyte image dataset linked to reproductive outcomes, Future Fertility’s AI models generate quality scores that not only guide treatment planning and manage expectations, but also serve as objective, actionable KPIs for labs—driving improved outcomes and transparency in fertility care worldwide.
The awards are free to enter, with winners receiving a trophy and an interview with Femtech World.
Find out more about the awards and enter for free here.
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