Tate McRae’s Style Evolution: From 2020 to Now
Written by Elle Mazor
Whether you know her as the hit singer and dancing sensation, or just as that girl who used to make sad music, Tate McRae is an artist known by many. Growing up in Calgary, Canada, she moved to L.A. to make a name for herself. Today, McRae has accomplished her goal to its fullest potential. After releasing “Housemaid,” the first single off her highly anticipated fourth album, on Oct. 15, it seems fitting to take a look at how McRae’s style has evolved over the years.
Tate McRae first started becoming popular in 2020 with her EP, All the Things I Never Said. But before that, she grew up as a very well known dance prodigy. In 2016, she came in 3rd on “So You Think You Can Dance.” She has brought this love of dance with her throughout her entire career, becoming very well known for the impressive dance breaks in her performances. In her post-dance career, she has shifted to making music mostly in the style of alternative pop.
When it comes to her style, her choices coincide with the times of her releases. In 2022, she went on the Are We Flying tour. In these early performances of McRae’s we see her in lots of brightly colored clothes. Her tour outfits mostly consisted of crop tops or sports bras, paired with baggy silk sweatpants and sometimes accompanied by fluffy, brightly colored gloves. In these early days, she was experimenting a lot with her style. In an article by Elle Magazine, she discloses, “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.’” This thought process is very reflective of her first tour outfits, a combination of feminine and sporty.
Next came her second album, Think Later. This album was very different from her first, as her music transitioned to more of a dance pop sound. This music fit her vibe well, and it is what truly skyrocketed her success. Her singles, “Exes” and “Greedy,” from her sophomore album allowed her to create a true vision for this next era of hers, filled with hints of the epic 2000’s pop sound, sexy dance breaks, and an effortless cool girl vibe. With this album, she brought out more of her dancer background and with it, her style evolved too.
Her outfits for Think Later World Tour were simpler in color, focusing on a more neutral color palette but still emphasizing this sporty feel. For many performances, she wore jerseys, bringing back a tomboy-ish style, and also using it as a call to her love of hockey, a sport she grew up watching in Canada and which runs in her family. This tour also featured many corset-style tops and leather shorts, as well as excessive accessorizing with belts.
For her next tour in 2025, the Miss Possessive Tour, her album and style followed a similar pattern to Think Later. She again incorporated lots of leather shorts and corsets, although for this tour she has featured different animal prints into the corsets, taking inspiration from the 2000’s. It seems that over these two years of touring, McRae found a style that fits her and her musical concepts well, bringing together both the sporty and girly sides of her she had trouble combining in her early career.
Now with her new album coming out, fans are excited to see how her style will evolve again. It seems that as she has grown, her music and style has matured with her. The latest performance we got of McRae was 2026 Lollapalooza, where she left everyone in awe, ending her song dripping in gold. As her new single, “Housewife,” just dropped, it seems she may be leaving behind her previous fashion concepts and trying something new stylistically. Wherever her style goes, though, she will be sure to take with her all the things she has learned over the course of her career, and fans can't wait to see the new style for her new era.
Edited by Claudia Rothberg, Jordyn Salahiddine-Rose, Leila Ianovici and Robin Schleusner
