Tate McRae was among the many making their Met Gala debut this year, and the “Tit for Tat” singer made sure to coordinate her red carpet look to her after-party one to perfection—so much so that we had to do a double-take to make sure she hadn't pulled the scissors out in between events.
Last night, McRae graced the Met Gala 2026 red carpet in a golden look custom-made for her by Ludovic de Saint Sernin, who also attended the event alongside her. As the brand shared, McRae's body-hugging gown took inspiration from “the gilded statues adorning La Réale, the ceremonial boat of Louis XIV, preserved today at the Musée national de la Marine.”
The dress, which was handmade in Paris, was built around a bone corset structure with blocked-stitching and covered with French Leavers lace from Calais-Caudry in a stunning gold shade, cascading into a tiered ruffle train that completely covered her feet, giving her a statuesque flair.
As the brand explained, the traditional lacing technique used for McRae's dress is “ancestral” and “gives the surface a fluid, almost living texture against the skin.” Knowing how delicate and special the lace is, imagine our surprise when she pulled up to the Met Gala after-parties rocking a sheer midi dress with a similar intricate golden lacing pattern.
Obviously, we had to bring out the magnifying glasses and inspect the patterns closely to see if she had pulled a Tyla at the 2024 Met Gala and cut her outfit to convert it from an evening gown to a party dress. Thankfully, upon closer inspection, we can say that no dresses were harmed in the making of this after-party look.
The similarities between the two dresses are probably not coincidental, and McRae was likely hoping for a matchy-matchy vibe, giving us both an elevated and a more casual version of a gold lace dress. To say she succeeded would be an understatement.
McRae's after-party dress is much more sheer than her red-carpet counterpart, and instead of an ornate gold bra made of hand-applied feathers, it features a sweetheart neckline with thin spaghetti straps sewn into a looser, corset-style bodice. To keep the sheer illusion, the singer completed the look with see-through heels and invisible underwear. She added a more casual touch with sunglasses and a gold, perfume-bottle-shaped necklace that shone brightly on her chest.
Clearly, McRae was feeling more than comfortable in the simplified version of her Met Gala dress because she gallivanted from the Saint Laurent after-party at People's Bar to the GQ after-party at The Twenty Two in Union Square, with BLACKPINK's Rosé in tow. What can we say? Tate McRae is synonymous with a stunning, sheer serve, and she keeps stepping up her game!
