Swift walked the red carpet last week in a design from Dior, featuring a yellow tartan corset and a tartan caped skirt, with the collection paying homage to Scotland.
Days after Swift stepped onto the VMAs red carpet, 59-year-old Cumming posed at the Emmy Awards in tartan – where he won outstanding host for a reality or reality competition for his role on the American version of The Traitors.
When asked about fans remarking that Swift’s VMAs look was similar to his wardrobe as host of The Traitors, Cumming joked with Entertainment Weekly on the Emmys red carpet: “The b**** stole my look.”
He continued: “It was hilarious because actually in the next season… there’s a look I have that’s obviously very similar but I think it’s hilarious that so many people sort of said ‘Taylor Swift looks like Alan Cumming’ – which is a sentence I never thought I would hear.”
After the VMAs, Cumming wrote on X: “Ahem, @taylorswift,” sharing a montage of photographs of himself in plaid alongside a photograph of Swift dressed at the VMAs.
Meanwhile at the Emmys, Cumming appeared on stage to collect the award for outstanding reality competition for The Traitors.
The Traitors is set in the same castle as the UK version, Ardross in the Scottish Highlands, but is hosted by Cumming instead of Claudia Winkleman.
“I want to thank everyone in the castle at Ardross, the cast and crew who work so hard and get so wet by the Scottish weather,” Cumming said on stage at the Emmys.
“I also want to thank Scotland – I owe it everything, and it’s such a beautiful co-star.
“I also want to thank Holland, because I don’t think we thank Holland enough, because so many of these shows, like The Traitors, were first made up in Holland, and they obviously have something in the water.
“So let’s find it, let’s drink it, and all of America’s problems will be solved.”
The UK version’s traitors and faithful are selected from among the public who apply while the American show saw a mix of ordinary people and celebrities in its first season before becoming just famous faces in the second series.
The original game show launched at the end of 2022 on the BBC but is based on a Dutch format.