While it was an iconic fixture among outfits of the sixties – à la Brigitte Bardot – today the classic gingham print is leaving its old-school feel behind. Major fashion houses are happily remixing the look, adorning their pieces with coloured squares of various shapes and sizes; evidenced by Balmain’s XXL take on the print, MSGM’s pastel version and Carolina Herrera and Prabal Gurung’s sequin-clad interpretation...

While the gingham print is experiencing its own renaissance, the traditional black and white checkerboard has reinstated its royal standing in the fashion world. Giant chess squares are showing up on Stand Studio coats, creating optical illusions on Thornton Bregazzi dresses and drifting their way into Casablanca’s Grand Prix collection – a tribute to the golden age of Formula 1.

The Venetian carnival look is also causing a stir among this season’s wardrobe, with Harelquin thumbing his nose at the fashion world, clad in his traditional colourful check ensemble. It couldn’t be more evident than at Casablanca, whose outfits have taken a baroque turn with their coats, skirts and cardigans adorned with XXL diamonds and offbeat colours.

As for kids and teenagers, they’re not being left out of the style game either. Vans revisited their iconic Old Skool checkerboard sneakers, giving them a bright, tangy twist. An aesthetic that evokes the brand’s Californian heritage with its mythical roller-skate cafes and fast-food restaurants.

Jewellers and accessory brands are also taking to the checkerboard for inspiration. Brands such as Tarin Thomas, J.Hannah, Timeless Pearly and Wolf Circus are using the two-tone print on their rings, necklaces and hair clips, regilding it with a modern patina.

Checks are also taking hold in interior spaces. Their parallel lines plotted out in the plush of some of the biggest names in the textile scene: cc-tapis and Home Union. Both play on the print’s illusory quality, creating highly visual, dreamlike worlds, straight out of Alice in Wonderland.

At the dining table, both the Softedge studio and artist Sam.m are playing with perspectives, creating perfectly imperfect tableware. Their egg cups, plates and centrepieces hand-painted with randomly proportioned, irregular and crooked squares.

Ceramic and papier-mâché arts and crafts are also being kept in check, with Casa Verónica and Sarah Murphy using the pattern as the backdrop to their unique designs that sit somewhere between sculpture and furniture.

New brands and labels are also getting in on the act, adopting the checkerboard pattern in its most colourful iteration yet. Within the collections of &Klevering, Lucy Tolan, May Cohan and Bella Boornazian you’ll find vases, coasters and photo frames in bright or pastel combinations.

The check pattern is also making its way into bed linen, lead largely by Australian brand Society of Wanderers, whose gingham prints offer a matrix of colour that’s winning hearts – both young and old.

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