Cool Enough to Flip Mop Tops

The Movie: “BackBeat.”

The Setup: Chronicle of the Beatles’ earliest days in Hamburg, Germany--pre-Ringo--featuring original band member Stuart Sutcliffe (Stephen Dorff) and his girlfriend, Astrid Kirchherr (Sheryl Lee).

The Costume Designer: British designer Sheena Napier, an Oscar nominee for “Enchanted April.”

The Look: Musicologists may appreciate the power of the tunes, but fashionologists will savor the evolution of the earth-shattering Beatles look. As shown here, the Beatles were a raggedy bunch of rockers, indistinguishable from other young European bands.

Their hair was Elvis Presley-ized--slicked into pompadours--and they wore leather motorcycle jackets, drainpipe trousers and pointed shoes known as “winkle pickers.” Paul McCartney (Gary Bakewell) stands out as the most unenlightened fashion-wise, clinging to a big tweed overcoat.

That changes when pretty, blond German art student and photographer Kirchherr and her compatriots, known as “The Exis,” as in existentialism , enter the picture. Kirchherr imposes her advanced sense of style--foundations of black and minimal shapes--on Sutcliffe, gives him the famous Beatles haircut and sews his streamlined Nehru jackets. The other Beatles quickly catch on.

Hit: Style queen Kirchherr considered bell-bottom and flared pants, oversize men’s sweaters and black suits in velvet, leather and suede to be chic, and they still work today.

Good Hair Day: Kirchherr’s own forward-combed, short tresses--a blond, female version of the mop top--have a timeless quality. And note that the Beatles’ famous bang cut, considered shockingly long in 1963, didn’t touch their shirt collars.

Trivia: Kirchherr, who still lives in Hamburg, doesn’t dress entirely in black anymore. She wears blue jeans.

Quoted: “Although the movie’s about how the Beatles started, it’s really Astrid’s story as far as I’m concerned. She was my main source,” Napier says.

Inspiration: Conversations with Kirchherr, and books on rockers of the period and on the Beatles’ early days, including “Remember” by Michael McCartney and “How They Became the Beatles” by Gareth L. Pawlowsky.

Sources: Flea markets in Hamburg and London, period rentals from Carlo Manzi in London. Kirchherr’s suits were custom-made by Ann Maskrey in England.