This season checks aren't just for shirts From grunge to quiet luxury, checked patterns have been a constant feature of this fashion month

The check is a pattern that carries centuries of history on its shoulders. Although its origin is still a matter of debate, some reconstructions trace it back to prehistory when threads were already being woven on rudimentary looms to create simple grids sometimes found in funerary goods. This weave seems to arise from a shared and almost simultaneous genesis. Checkered patterns already appear in ancient Egypt and India. Not surprisingly, even the term “check” has Eastern roots: it would derive from the Arabic expression shāh māt, used in the game of chess to indicate "checkmate". In Europe, however, the same intuition takes shape in Celtic communities and then consecrates itself in tartan, the Scottish checkered fabric that has become a symbol of traditional kilts. In short, it is a pattern layered in form and meaning, that has accompanied us for centuries and thanks to its versatility has been adopted by fashion, from subcultures to luxury brands, remaining a protagonist on the SS26 season runways. 

Some designers have explored the American origins of the check shirt and its central role in workwear. Veronica Leoni, at the helm of Calvin Klein Collection, proposes a more minimal and refined image of the classic lumberjack flannel, while Willy Chavarria has incorporated it as a nod to Chicano culture. Acne Studios and Versace, on the other hand, pay homage to American cowboy culture, especially in the case of the latter, where Dario Vitale proposes checkered shirts with studded western vests. They include it, as in every collection, also the Caten brothers of Dsquared2 in Resort 2026 along with faded leather jackets and bucket hats. While more modern brands like Alis and Rolf Ekroth, on the other hand, include check in full gorpcore style pieces like windbreakers and anoraks. Total looks are not missing: from Vetements we find a tweed suit and microskirt paired with imposing cuissardes; from Moschino, Adrian Apiolazza creates a checkered jumpsuit-shirt, completed with a leather bag that realistically reproduces an apple crate while KNWLS proposes a checkered set with a Y2K taste. 

Daniel Lee obviously uses it at Burberry where it is the symbol of the brand itself, this time with indie sleaze inclinations. But this month a preppy vocation for the check pattern has also emerged. For example, for his debut at Dior, Jonathan Anderson created check shirts with ruffles and bow-tied collars in the style of Louis XIV paired with heels covered in checkered fabric. At Chanel, Matthieu Blazy included check in men's cut crop jackets in Prince of Wales, houndstooth suits and bouclé tweed coats with fringed hems. Pharrell Williams also proposes, for the menswear of Louis Vuitton, tartan bombers with incorporated check scarves that serve as collars. There is someone like Alessandro Sartori at Zegna who reinterprets the classic rigor that evokes check by parading, both in the summer and winter collections, wrinkled blazers and suits made in Prince of Wales, deliberately left un-ironed as if they had been naturally sun-dried.

The “check effect” has also infected old money brands: in the SS26 of Hermès we find checkered shirts contaminated by elements that refer to equestrian clothing, instead, Matteo Tamburini at Tod's creates coats with leather details and partly printed in checks, elevating check to a new code of quiet luxury. The changing and unexpected possibilities of this pattern have led some designers to use it even to create pieces with unusual and experimental silhouettes. Duran Lantink, for example, in his winter collection included a tartan jacket with a shape similar to a turtle's carapace, while Andreas Kronthaler, at Vivienne Westwood, creates a sort of asymmetric cape with check stripes alternated with animalier patterns, Nicolas Di Felice, for Courrèges, creates dresses with incorporated veils and a print that recalls a grid traced in chalk, while Egonlab presents shirts in gingham or vichy patterns with a long pointed collar.