It’s kind of hard not to get transfixed by an episode of What’s Underneath, the project launched earlier this year by mother-daughter team Elisa Goodkind and Lily Mandelbaum of StyleLikeU. The clips document a diverse group of subjects stripping to their skivvies while emotionally undressing, too — they are literally and figuratively revealing. It’s not every day that a stranger opens up about his or her fight with anorexia, alopecia, albinism, abuse, and straight-up self-hate. But, the two auteurs have brought these stories to light, and their next step is something you’ll want to be a part of — you might just want to be in it.
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Just last night, Goodkind and Mandelbaum announced the launch of a Kickstarter campaign to fund their documentary project, for which they hope to turn the lens toward their audience. The I’m What’s Underneath project will take the twosome all over the globe, collecting stories that support their message of acceptance and love and disband a singular, exclusive idea of beauty — one that’s largely unattainable, unrealistic, and probably over-Photoshopped in the first place.
Elisa and Lily have raised a whopping $22,000 since last night’s launch, and they hope to kick off the worldwide trip early next year, meeting with fans of the project who're willing to share their own stories, and undies, on camera. The documentary, the campaign video states, should arrive in early 2016. In other words, we're just over a year away from the release of a film that celebrates diversity and beauty in every form, and that speaks to and inspires self-acceptance. Of course, the first step is to press play on the Kickstarter video below. Watch for yourself, follow along, and decide if it's a message you want to kick in for.