Tate McRae Outfits That Completely Missed The Mark

If it feels like Tate McRae is suddenly everywhere, it's because the pop singer is truly having a moment. You may recognize the Canadian beauty from S13 of "So You Think You Can Dance," where she came in third place, but these days she's flaunting another of her talents — singing. Her first big hit actually made waves in 2020, when she released the song "You Broke Me First," to massive critical and commercial acclaim. Rolling Stone named her one of the biggest breakthrough artists of that year, and she's been making a name for herself in the music industry ever since.

While making a name for herself in Hollywood, there's only one area McRae has struggled with — her fashion. Brett Alan Nelson, a stylist who worked with the star on her music video for "Fast Car," gave insight into McRae's wardrobe selections. Nelson told Fashionista in January 2025 that the pop star herself actually had a say in all her looks, explaining, "Any artist I work with, I force them to be involved in my process. I can dress anyone any sort of way, but if the artist doesn't connect with it, it doesn't feel real or authentic."

While it may not be clear who should take all the blame for some of McRae's most flagrant fashion faux pas, we're rounding up the pop star's most questionable fashion moments here.

The MTV Video Music Awards have been known for enveloping-pushing fashion, so we're not surprised that the sartorially challenged Tate McRae donned an unfortunate ensemble for the occasion. The Canadian pop star turned up in a totally sheer white gown by Ludovic de Saint Sernin. The dress showed off a pair of white briefs underneath, a pretty tacky fashion choice on such a big night for the star. If not for the sheer element, the frock may have been a winner — it even included an ethereal train that made a serious statement as McRae walked down the red carpet.

Women's Wear Daily reported that the gown's designer had previously opened up about the Spring 2025 ready-to-wear collection this dress hailed from, sharing that it was meant to "explore the duality of the innocence and the erotic of ballet" and allow someone to "show on stage something unique about who you are as a performer." The barely-there frock certainly did make her appear unique — just not in a good way. Making matters even worse? The bizarre styling choices her hairstylist, Chad Wood, made when it came to accessorizing her locks. 

Wood told Allure he included ostrich feathers to match the dress' vibes. Yes, you read that right. The hairstylist explained, "I sourced and hand-dyed feathers to perfectly match Tate's natural highlights, allowing them to flow seamlessly as she moved with elegance." Well, okay then!

Tate McRae certainly puts her dancing background to good use. She showed off her incredible skills at the 2025 MTV VMAs, performing her songs "Revolving Door" and "Sports Car." But her scantily clad performance look made the headlines. The Canadian singer rocked an embellished white bandeau top and matching boy shorts. The revealing ensemble was not all that different from what she showed off on the red carpet under the sheer skirt of her Ludovic de Saint Sernin gown. 

Unfortunately, it seemed like white and barely there was the theme of McRae's fashion for the night. Even her backup dancers were scantily clad, with the men in tiny briefs and the women in various white sheer looks. But there was apparently a method to her madness — McRae took to Instagram to post a clip of the performance and explained she was inspired by Greek mythology with those looks. The singer wrote in part, "Getting to story tell on this stage was so much fun and yes I was Medusa..... the scorned woman & turned all the boys to stone." We're not sure that gives her a fashion pass, but it does help these strange looks make a little more sense.

Unfortunately for Tate McRae, being scantily clad isn't always fashionable. After rocking a sheer white Ludovic de Saint Sernin dress on the red carpet and essentially just a white bandeau and boy shorts on stage, the Canadian beauty continued her theme of mystifyingly minimal clothing with this shocking ensemble. While heading out to Sabrina Carpenter's MTV VMA after-party, the singer sported, well, no pants. Yep, the star decided to rock a sheet halter top, black underwear, and a pair of sheer black tights to the event, sans any bottoms. And if it weren't frustrating enough that she was continuing her reign of barely-there clothing, she also made another major fashion faux pas — she stepped out wearing sunglasses at night.

Despite the racy looks that made her dangerously close to having a wardrobe malfunction all night, the star had a good time at the big award show. She was in very high spirits when she talked to "Entertainment Tonight" that evening, sharing, "It's such an honor, these nights are just electric. You get to see all your friends, you get to watch the best performances, it's very iconic, very fun."

Usually, getting ready for an award show requires a celebrity to undergo hours of preparation, not just roll out of bed and step onto the red carpet. But unfortunately for Tate McRae, she may not have received that memo. We're surprised McRae didn't accessorize with a sleep mask when she wore this little Rabanne slip dress at the 2024 iHeart Radio Awards. The musician stepped onto the event's yellow carpet in this teeny gold minidress bordered with chunky white lace, which could easily be mistaken for a nightgown, resulting in a serious fashion flub. McRae tried to dress up her sleepwear-inspired look with a pair of shiny gold Jimmy Choo sandals and some jewelry, but it was tough to salvage the bedtime aesthetic this frock delivered.

Despite the dismal fashion showing and not taking home any awards that night, McRae had reason to celebrate that night. The star performed two of her hits, "Greedy" and "Exes," during the event. And a few days prior to the award show, McRae took to Instagram to announce a very exciting milestone — her song "Greedy" had reached an impressive billion streams on Spotify.

What exactly is going on here? When Tate McRae performed at the 2023 Brit Awards, she wore an outfit that truly puzzled the brain. We'll try to unpack it, but it's anyone's guess as to why McRae decided to pair her baggy blue pants with a bedazzled bra. And if that wasn't bad enough, the Canadian singer took things even further with the decision to add a chunky black belt over her midsection and one — yep, just one — elbow-length black leather glove.

The decision to rock this bizarre look might be best explained by an interview she gave Elle Canada in 2025. McRae revealed that when it comes to her fashion, she leads by her tomboy roots, explaining, "I remember when I was 16, all I wanted to do was wear baggy clothes and big T-shirts, and I didn't want to experiment with anything. And then I came out to L.A. and I started dressing in hot pink dresses and very girly. And I was like, 'This is not me. I am way more tomboy than this.'" Despite the rough transition, the singer summed up her style as "pretty sporty, but a touch of a feminine side to it." We guess that is one way to describe these baggy trousers and bedazzled bra ensemble!

While stopping by the SiriusXM studios in September 2023, Tate McRae once again showed off her funky tomboy style. The star was on hand to speak with SiriusXM personalities Tony Fly and Symon when she turned up in a gray Ganni graphic t-shirt styled in a truly puzzling way. While many would roll it up to turn it into a crop top, or maybe tuck it in for a more polished look, McRae decided to tuck up just one side of her t-shirt in a bizarre fashion faux pas. If the odd style choice wasn't enough, McRae paired her casual tee with a very unfortunate-looking pair of knee-length jean shorts, white crew socks, and chunky sneakers. 

Two years later, the singer reflected on her strange fashion choices with Harper's Bazaar in 2025. McRae cited her dance background as a big factor in her decisions, explaining to the outlet, "As a dancer, you want to be able to do everything, so the comfortability part of it is so important. Which is why I end up going more sporty a lot of the time because I'm just like, 'Screw the fashion, let me dance!'" 

Underwear on the red carpet? While to many that would be a massive fashion blunder, to Tate McRae, it's just another Saturday. The singer has turned up to multiple events rocking skivvies, and the Capital Summertime Ball in 2025 was no exception. Before taking the stage at the annual UK event, McRae posed for photos while rocking a pair of Balenciaga underwear as outerwear. Yep, those are just undergarments, and her unconventional style choices didn't stop there. She added a tight graphic t-shirt from the fashion house, complete with a Lamborghini design on the front as a fun reference to her hit song "Fast Car," black heels, and a totally mismatched chunky tan Le City bag.

When it came time to perform later that day, McRae once again committed to showing a whole lot of skin. While performing her hit tunes like "You Broke Me First," the beauty rocked a bedazzled purple bustier and boy shorts combo on stage.

If you think Tate McRae's affinity for wearing intimates in public is a new phenomenon, think again. Here's the Canadian pop star way back in 2021, just one year after the debut of her first hit song, opting to wear a black bra instead of a shirt. While on hand for that year's iHeart Radio Music Festival, McRae wore a set of neon green coordinates and then inexplicably chose to rock only a black bra underneath. She then finished things off with a pair of black boots with a neon green sole, and while we want to talk about how ugly those shoes are, we're pretty impressed with how well they match her outfit. 

The funky getup turned out to be her stage ensemble as well, with one major addition. The singer thankfully decided to put on a tank top over her bra on stage — as shown by the iHeart Radio X account, which shared a video of the star showing off her impressive dance skills. She also performed her new song at the time, "Working," a collaboration with Khalid, calling it a "straight summer bop." 

Any fashion connoisseur is no stranger to cutouts on the red carpet. The stars have been rocking daring designs for years, but Tate McRae's funky frock on the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards black carpet may take the cake. The blue minidress included a cutout from the neckline down to below the navel on one side, while the skirt featured a massive slit on that same left side as well, essentially leaving the star wearing half a dress. 

Despite the frock being a fashion flop, it has a very interesting background. The barely-there dress was actually made by a surprising designer, Jeannine Rios, a young talent who had just graduated from New York City's The New School earlier that same year. Rios shed some light on the interesting look's shape with Paper Magazine, explaining that she was inspired by her parents' hometown, Jalpa, Zacatecas, Mexico. "Rural Mexico is a place where leather is ubiquitous, especially in fashion. So it is a take on that, but in my own way... The curves of the leather follow the curvature of the female body and are molded to it — a reflection of how our life circumstances mold and become part of us, as well," Rios explained. The context makes the outfit more meaningful, but it sadly didn't win McRae any fashion points. 

Way back in 2021, Tate McRae proved she had an edgy — and sometimes downright bizarre— sense of style. The star arrived at iHeart Radio 106.1's KISS FM Jingle Ball that year, rocking a sheer long-sleeved top that showed off a black bra underneath. On the bottom? This time she actually wore a pair of pants — shiny leather ones tucked into combat boots. But it's the stylist behind this look that is actually really surprising, as it may have been her mom. 

In 2022, McRae told Fashion that her mom was often the mastermind behind her wardrobe early in her career. "My mom was styling me this whole summer, which has been the best thing ever ... She always says, 'I don't feel like you're my daughter,' because I hate shopping — I despise it. But I like putting outfits together," McRae explained. The singer also talked about her penchant for funky looks, adding, "I think there always needs to be some part of my outfit that is weird. I'll always add some sort of statement piece, whether it's super high platform shoes or a crazy necklace." Well, she's definitely right about that one!

There have been many iconic looks at the MTV Video Music Awards, and Britney Spears' 2001 Dolce & Gabbana ensemble is one of the most memorable. That's likely why Tate McRae opted to wear nearly a carbon copy of the minidress at the 2024 event. Unfortunately, it totally missed the mark. 

Not only was it shocking considering her tendency to sport sheer looks, but it just didn't live up to the original. She also paired hers with a black bra and thong from Fleur du Mal, while Spears opted for a more conservative boy short. Vogue reported that McRae's version was a custom Roberto Cavalli frock designed by Fausto Puglisi. Despite underwhelming many fashion lovers, this pick did stay true to the Canadian pop star's preference for 2000s fashion. 

The year prior, McRae sang the praises of her pop predecessor, telling People that she was honored to be compared to Spears. "I mean, Britney's the queen. People are going to compare newer artists to things that have happened in the past, so obviously it's very cool to hear comments like that," the singer noted.