All the incredible Beatles fashion we hope to see in Sam Mendes' biopic

Natalie Salmon
·3-min read
The Beatles stand shoulder to shoulder in tailored suits—dark pinstripes, gray wool, and slim lapels. It’s early Beatlemania, and they look polished, poised, and ready to take over the world.
Suit Up: How The Beatles Made Mod Menswear Iconic in the Early ’60s (Bettmann Archive)

The Beatles didn’t just rewrite music history—they casually restyled it too. From mop-top mod to psychedelic dandies, the 'Fab Four' were always fashion-forward, and often light years ahead.

"We were slightly - you could call it arrogant or confident - in our own sense of fashion," Paul McCartney once said, and really, can you blame him? In Sam Mendes’ upcoming biopic, we’re praying for a visual feast. Because when it comes to iconic style, no band did it better - or braver - than The Beatles.

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The Best Beatles Fashion Moments of All Time:

The Beatles, suited in matching dark jackets, meet Princess Margaret. Ringo bows deeply as the others smile beside him. It’s formal meets fangirl in a royal backstage moment.
The Beatles, suited in matching dark jackets, meet Princess Margaret. Ringo bows deeply as the others smile beside him. It’s formal meets fangirl in a royal backstage moment.

Royal Elegance - 1963

Tailored to perfection in razor-sharp suits, the Beatles looked every bit the dashing rock’n’roll diplomats as they met Princess Margaret. The moment is forever immortalised in pop lore—when John Lennon quipped to the royals, “just rattle your jewellery” instead of clapping. "I can’t overpitch this," Nik Cohn wrote in his book Today there are no gentlemen: The changes in Englishmen's clothes since the war, "the Beatles changed everything." Even formalwear. They didn't just meet royalty - they were style royalty.

The Beatles pose in matching cream-and-pastel striped blazers and straw boater hats. They're on a brightly lit stage, channeling barbershop quartet energy with cheeky expressions and theatrical posture.
The Beatles pose in matching cream-and-pastel striped blazers and straw boater hats. They're on a brightly lit stage, channeling barbershop quartet energy with cheeky expressions and theatrical posture.

Barbershop Beatles - 1963

In an early TV appearance on the 'Night of a Hundred Stars' show. The Beatles went full barbershop quartet with candy-striped blazers and straw boater hats, embracing theatricality with giddy charm. It’s delightfully offbeat and a hint at the visual boldness to come. "The Beatles didn’t set out to be the trend. They were innately stylish young men," Tony Palmer, director of All You Need Is Love, reminds us.

In front of a massive American flag, the Beatles pose like a power stack—Paul seated in front, the others perched behind. It screams “We’ve landed,” and boy, they had.
In front of a massive American flag, the Beatles pose like a power stack—Paul seated in front, the others perched behind. It screams “We’ve landed,” and boy, they had.

British Invasion - 1964

With Paul in a pale grey suit, the others in black The Beatles posed for a portrait in front of the American Flag in New York.  The tailoring is chef’s kiss, their poses iconically deliberate. They didn’t just cross the Atlantic - they owned it. “They took [fashion] in new directions, becoming the leading style makers of their day,” explains Tony.

The Fab Four don Elizabethan costumes with ruffled collars, bright tights, and embroidered tunics. They’re crouched in a theatrical pose, looking like Shakespearean jesters with guitars instead of lutes.
The Fab Four don Elizabethan costumes with ruffled collars, bright tights, and embroidered tunics. They’re crouched in a theatrical pose, looking like Shakespearean jesters with guitars instead of lutes.

Elizabethan Rockstars - 1964

Only The Beatles could turn Shakespearean cosplay into an editorial-worthy moment; In full Elizabethan regalia, while rehearsing Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' at the Rediffusion TV studios in Wembley. It’s all camp, all confidence, and completely brilliant. As Paul said, “confident in our own sense of fashion.” No band since has made a doublet look this cool.

The Beatles huddle together, grinning in warm jackets and mod-style turtlenecks. They're young, fresh-faced, and look like they just finished recording the coolest song of 1965.
The Beatles huddle together, grinning in warm jackets and mod-style turtlenecks. They're young, fresh-faced, and look like they just finished recording the coolest song of 1965.

Mod Mid-60s Cool - 1965

In this snap, the Beatles went full Carnaby Street with slimline coats, rollnecks, and tousled mop-tops. It became the blueprint for every indie boy band that followed, yet they wore it first and best.

On a nearly empty tour bus, the Beatles wear eclectic outfits—Ringo in pinstripes, Paul in a sweater vest, John in a bowler hat. It’s ‘60s psychedelia meets business casual.
On a nearly empty tour bus, the Beatles wear eclectic outfits—Ringo in pinstripes, Paul in a sweater vest, John in a bowler hat. It’s ‘60s psychedelia meets business casual.

Magical Mystery - 1967

Pinstripes, floppy hats, and pattern-clashing vests? On their way to film the 'Magical Mystery Tour', they looked like time-traveling poets from a parallel mod universe. "By embodying a desire for freedom and self-expression," Tony Palmer wrote, “the Beatles energised the world." Here, they're off-duty style prophets—messy, magical, and utterly mesmerising.

Sitting on a London stoop, the Beatles flaunt funky prints, velvet jackets, and mod neckties. Think paisley fever dream meets Carnaby Street swagger, with a dash of flower power.
Sitting on a London stoop, the Beatles flaunt funky prints, velvet jackets, and mod neckties. Think paisley fever dream meets Carnaby Street swagger, with a dash of flower power.

Doorstep Dandies - 1967

"On May 18, 1967... the Beatles burst on the eye like gilded butterflies," Deirdre Kelly wrote in her book Fashioning the Beatles: The Looks that Shook the World. In bold paisley, satins, and brocades, they looked like they had personally invented colour. From Nehru collars to flared trousers, they dressed like a revolution. And the world stared. Why? Because they were original. And they knew it.

The Beatles wear ornate, colorful Eastern-inspired outfits with flared pants and paisley prints, standing next to a white grand piano outdoors. The sky’s blue, and so is the vibe.
The Beatles wear ornate, colorful Eastern-inspired outfits with flared pants and paisley prints, standing next to a white grand piano outdoors. The sky’s blue, and so is the vibe.

Summer of Love - 1967

The psychedelic period gave us this glorious mess of velvet blazers, bold patterns, floral shirts, and colourful scarves. No one matched textures like the Beatles. This is London-meets-Maharishi—part rockstar, part spiritual adventurer. "They were never in fashion," says Palmer, "they altered the look of a generation." Indeed.


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