Check Mate: How Checkerboard dominated 2025 fashion
- Kick The Concrete
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
The checkerboard pattern has been around forever. Checkerboard floors. Checkerboard game boards. Checkerboard sneakers. Checkerboard teakettles.
The print symbolizes harmony and strategy, coolness and luxury, and victory.
We’ve seen a resurgence of the pattern over the past few years. Maybe it’s natural with the rise of Formula 1’s popularity around the world. The flag of victory finds its pattern being constantly reinvented with color and texture.
Perhaps it goes beyond the F1 grid and into Pharrell's ability to unite people around his creative excellence. The pattern's popularity has seemingly risen as the pop culture icon embraces its heritage at Louis Vuitton, making checkerboard ubiquitous.
Here are some of Kick The Concrete’s favorite sightings of the iconic checkerboard pattern throughout 2025…
Checkerboard in Formula 1 in 2025
The racetrack naturally brings the desire for checkerboard. This year, we saw it donned by cars, fans and drivers alike. Here are some of the best interpretations on race weekends throughout the F1 season.
Boxer Malik Scott was spotted with his wife, Kate Scott, (as well as football legend Thierry Henry) in the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls garage at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Scott wore the Medusa Check silk button-up by Versace. He paired it with black baggy trousers and closed-toed Birkenstocks. We wonder if he made that choice of shoe because he was hoping to make it onto the track where it is required to have closed-toed shoes?
Disney’s partnership with Formula 1 was on full display at the Las Vegas Grand Prix in October. Disney’s Fuel the Magic Campaign promised to “deliver unforgettable fan experiences, exclusive content and elevated products.” Mickey and Minnie Mouse were on the track to welcome the drivers for the Drivers Parade. The kids were thrilled to watch as Minnie, dressed in a checkerboard skirt and red coat with her signature red heels, high-fived Red Bull driver and four time world champion Max Verstappen.
Minnie’s skirt wasn’t the only checkerboard around the track in Las Vegas. Stake Kick Sauber celebrated the end of their green era with a special livery for their car and new fits for their drivers. The highlight was really cool accents of checkerboard throughout.
Louis Vuitton joined Formula 1 in 2025 as an Official Partner. The 10-year agreement means the winner of each race receives a custom Louis Vuitton Trophy Trunk designed with the host city in mind, but always adorned with the symbol of racing’s checkerboard.
We know the racetrack is an obvious place to see checkerboard, so where else has it shown up for us in 2025?
NFL Arrivals with Checkerboard in 2025
This year, we found our NFL Drip Check was full of creative interpretation of checkerboard. It took shape in traditional solid squares and more of a grid. There was a belt, a Moncler jacket, Vans sneakers, a Louis Vuitton jacket, a Sprayground bag, and more. The pattern was reimagined with color, collabs and denim.
Click through the gallery below to see our favorite NFL checkerboard fashion statements of 2025:
Bottega Veneta takes checkerboard to new heights with their signature hand-woven leather technique, Intrecciato. Several NFL players showed they were on their fashion game arriving with Bottega Veneta bags. But Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen schooled us all when he wore the suede and leather Intreccio overshirt. Bravo!
Sometimes a look is so good we see it a couple times during the season on the arrivals runway. The green Acne Studios painted check double layer button-up shirt was worn first by Kristian Fulton of the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2. He was styled by London Wilmot, who put the shirt with baggy jeans, a cool belt buckle and classic tan Timberlands. NFL style icon Tyrod Taylor of the New York Jets, who is styled by Dex Robinson, wore it in Week 12 with gray trousers and white sneakers.
Who wore it best? You decide.
Met Gala features Checkerboard in 2025
The Met Gala is widely considered the Super Bowl of fashion because of how it celebrates the latest style trends in a larger-than-life way.
This year's theme was "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style," based on the book “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity." There was an eye-catching mix of prints on the blue flowered carpet, including checkerboard.
Pharrell, who was one of the evening's co-chairs, incorporated Louis Vuitton's signature checkerboard pattern into Doechii's head-turning look. She wore a shirt with a flare in the back paired with shorts featuring Damier Azur, the light-colored squares that have become synonymous with the French house. A mini checkerboard Speedy bag was the perfect accessory.
Actress Joey King also had a standout look at the Met Gala. She was one of the few stars that really committed to color. Her delightful bright green bedazzled Miu Miu suit was accented with a sleek checkerboard shirt.
Music Musings on Checkerboard in 2025
There are two major cultural moments in music that we can confidently say contributed to the rise of checkerboard in 2025.
In 2024, No Doubt reunited at Coachella and made major waves in the music scene. The band's ska roots naturally make checkerboard part of their DNA. Check out this video of their first night at Coachella and see all the checkerboard worn by their fans!
No Doubt is now delighting die-hards with a residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas in the spring of 2026. They announced the historic show this fall and of course included checkerboard in the graphics. The official poster has a checkerboard border and a checkerboard orange. The classic print fits almost everything they do.
"KPop Demon Hunters" took over Netflix with their action-packed musical. It became the most-watched film in the streaming service's history and is nominated for five 2026 Grammy Awards. Who hasn’t heard “Golden?” The pop culture phenomenon collaborated with the checkerboard OG, Vans, for a sneaker collection that captured the essence of the characters of Huntrix and the Saja Boys. Some of the shoe designs feature the bright graphics from the film overlaid on the checkerboard pattern.
Side Note: Vans also did a colorful collaboration with Valentino that featured checkerboard as the base of the designs. It definitely deserves a mention.
For some of us, checkerboard will never go out of style. It’s really a timeless pattern. But for those who are loyal to fashion trend’s ins and outs, checkerboard is making its way out of your closet.
But what pattern should be taking its place?
Colman Domingo gave us a hint with this Valentino Met Gala look. It serves as a bridge between the two…
Stay tuned for a preview of this trend to come!
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