Madeline Goodwill has spent much of her career in private-label fashion development, producing, approving, and reworking designs for sale in chain stores across the country. As she kept her finger on the pulse of each micro-trend and fashion faux pas, she noticed an untapped market: comfortable, neutral, and sustainable feminine undergarments. Thus, MADGOOD was founded.
“Being feminine is an energy. Being masculine is an energy, and the divine feminine is about existence and being, and creativity,” Goodwill said. “For me, designing based on those energies is really about ‘what do I feel best in as my feminine self?’ I marry the natural fiber, being comfortable, and still being a little sexy, but not necessarily in the eyes of what society is telling us to be.”
Femininity has been commercialized by fashion brands that play off patriarchal expectations of what someone with female sexual organs should cover with: sequins, lace, flowers, and discomfort. Goodwill views femininity as an internal, divine force rather than a rigid set of boundaries. Goodwill prioritizes reclaiming femininity on her own terms, designing and manufacturing garments that shape themselves around the wearer’s natural body, not the other way around.
Goodwill’s first collection, MADGOOD Vol. 1, emphasized creating a style that is “malleable, comfortable, yet sexy,” so the undergarments came in a variety of cuts with the same soft material. She believes that feeling sexy doesn’t require sacrificing comfort. She creates garments people can actually move in, whether they are daily thong-wearers or boxers-or-bust.
“There are ways that we can feel sensual and powerful in our bodies, but also feel like we’re in a fabric that moves with us, that grows with our body as we sometimes swell or get skinnier. Our body is ever-changing,” Goodwill said. “I marry the natural fiber, being comfortable, and still being a little sexy, but not necessarily in the eyes of what society is telling us what sexy looks like.”
Goodwill’s marketing strays away from airbrushed photos and stone-cut abs. She wants models representing the brand to be as diverse as her customer base, making a concerted effort to find people with different gender identities, body types, and style preferences because the usual marketing strategy of putting “feminine” cuts on feminine-presenting people and “masculine” cuts on masculine-presenting people still enforces gender stereotypes. Femmes can wear boxers too!
“It’s really important to me that I find all body types, all gender expressions. I do my best to make sure that we have a variety of people so that someone can see themselves in the brand,” Goodwill said. “We did some interviews with the models to hear some of their stories. MADGOOD’s bigger than me. It’s really about who’s wearing it. I wanted to really hear their voices.”
Goodwill began her company with the goal of leaving as little waste as possible. Each piece from MADGOOD Vol. 1 was made from modal, a natural fiber derived from beech trees, so when the garments are no longer worn, they will biodegrade rather than sit in a dumpster, the ocean, or on a city street for decades. Goodwill shared with Kailon that her Spring 2027 collection will be made from 100% organic cotton and will include expanded plus-size and fuller cup sizes.
“We need to be aware of the fabrics that we’re putting on our bodies,” Goodwill said. “Because I’m a small brand, I can’t go out there and develop a new fabric. So I’m using stuff that’s already in stock. We should use what’s available rather than go out and keep creating more and more and more.”
Goodwill grew up on a farm in rural New York, where her adoration for nature took root. As a queer woman, Goodwill has had to grapple with the Western societal implication that being queer is “unnatural.” However, gender roles and sexuality boundaries do not exist in nature; her queerness is as natural as the trees sprouting in Central Park or the birds nesting on empty fire escapes. This marriage of sexuality, gender identity, and nature formed the thesis of MADGOOD. No matter how you present, who you love, or how you identify, you should be able to find comfort in Goodwill’s clothes.
“I really wanted to turn back to nature because that is where we all come from,” Goodwill said. “Whether you’re queer, trans, non-binary, or straight, I want you to feel like you belong here, because we all exist freely, and there really are no boundaries on that.”
Keeping her commitment to slow-fashion, small-batch practices, Goodwill will continue to release collections with greater innovation and a wider range of sizes than before. Her releases contain only a limited number of pieces because they are manufactured by her small, NYC-based team.
Be sure to check the MADGOOD website and social media for regular updates on these wonderfully comfortable, thoughtfully designed, and eco-friendly pieces.
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