Matthew McConaugheys Beach Bum Look Required an “Arsenal of Thongs”

The Beach Bum, Harmony Korines neon-colored bong rip of a film, stars Matthew McConaughey as Moondog, a slacker poet who subsists on weed and booze. Hes a creature of Key West, who dresses for the part, wearing an endless array of made-for-dad-bods two-pieces; think billowing shirt-and-shorts sets or suits in crazy patterns (flames, palm trees, wonderfully lurid jungle flowers), which he sometimes strips off to reveal the slim thong that lies beneath. Sometimes, he wears bedazzled Uggs; sometimes, he wears fluffy bathrobes. Its all very boardwalk-meets-scumbro, sticky eye candy filtered through Korines trippy, 35-mm gaze.

McConaughey, who is pitch perfect as the sun-soaked stoner, loved the part so much that he essentially became Moondog, according to costume designer Heidi Bivens—the woman responsible for the movies incredible aesthetic.

“I dont know if he would consider himself Method, but, for the most part, he was that character throughout all of shooting,” Bivens said in a recent phone interview. “Even for that first fitting, he wanted to take items of the wardrobe home with him to where he was staying in Miami, so that he could live in the clothes.”

McConaugheys haul included one of Moondogs thong bathing suits, she added. The Beach Bum is, to put it mildly, very thong-forward. Moondog wears them often, as do the numerous topless woman who pop up throughout the film. “Yeah, we had an arsenal of thongs. All colors,” Bivens said with a laugh.

For the last few years, Bivens—whose wide-ranging résumé includes indies like David Lynchs Inland Empire and the Spike Jonze-directed Kenzo ad (you know the one)—has become the go-to designer for films with a certain countercultural id, like Korines deviant bikini fest, Spring Breakers, and Jonah Hills skater-centric Mid90s. The Beach Bum takes that niche aesthetic and quadruples it.

To create McConaugheys two-piece looks, the costumer reached out to Hawaii-based clothing company Jams World to pull, you guessed it, a variety of beachy Hawaiian-shirt prints. The looks were accessorized with some of McConaugheys own bracelets, as well as a vintage thunderbolt ring that Bivens sourced, and a single banana earring, created by a member of the props team. To fully become Moondog, McConaughey topped off the look with long blond locks, scraggly facial hair, and a chipped front tooth.

“There was a lot of talk of trying to make him look not attractive,” Bivens said. “I think its difficult, because hes muscular and tan—so even if he wasnt working out and was pushing out his gut, he still has great legs!”

Aside from McConaughey, Bivens had her work cut out for her with the rest of the star-studded cast, which includes Isla Fisher, Jonah Hill, Zac Efron, Martin Lawrence, and Snoop Dogg—the latter playing an R&B singer named Lingerie, one of Moondogs best friends. Sharp viewers will notice, however, that theres a scene in which Snoop Dogg wears a robe that has his real rap name sewn onto it, breaking the films continuity. “We had something planned for him to wear that day,” Bivens explained, but the rapper pushed for the robe. Korine gave it a thumbs-up, ultimately deciding it would only add to the films silly, winking vibe.

Hill, whos become a sartorial icon for wearing Moondog-esque items in real life, plays Lewis, Moondogs very Southern literary rep who is literally never not golfing. Hes all polo shirts and top hats, paired with expensive-looking patterned pants that were created with dead-stock vintage fabric sourced in Miami.

“It was essentially Southern gentleman-meets-Palm Beach dandy,” Bivens said. “Very detail-oriented, very colorful. I took a lot of inspiration from street-style shots at Milans mens shows.”

Bivens took the opposite approach when it came to Efron, who plays Flicker, a wild child with panini-inspired facial hair. Flicker dresses like the bastard child of Ed Hardy and Guy Fieri, the kind of man who pairs spiky vests with ginormous JNCOs (among the movies most indelible scenes: Flicker rolling around in Heelys, wearing his massive jeans and vaping).

“We were really playing for comedy,” Bivens said of the look. “Its just, like, so silly on its own. Like, anyone could put those jeans on, and its funny. So that was a no-brainer.”

The only character who didnt require as many made-from-scratch looks was Fisher, who plays Moondogs wife, Minnie. Shes a wealthy Miami resident and loves to look the part, so the wardrobe guru dressed her in a slew of designers: a Roberto Cavalli gown, a Pucci dress, La Perla lingerie. Minnie also sports Uggs with large, bedazzled jewels on them. Bivens loved the boots so much that she kept one of the duplicate pairs, as did McConaughey, who ended up taking “one of everything,” the costume designer said. At the films SXSW premiere in March, the actor even turned up in character as Moondog—unable to resist a second spin as the gnarly beach bum.   ###More Great Stories from Vanity Fair

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