Surprise! While Blake Lively has been a no-show at the Met Gala for the past few years (her last appearance was when she co-chaired the event in 2022), she just shocked fans by turning up on the 2026 Met Gala red carpet in an archival pastel Versace gown with a stunning train…just hours after settling her It Ends With Us lawsuit with Justin Baldoni.
![the 2026 met gala celebrating "costume art" arrivals](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/f856815e-fe68-4e6b-907f-77d056ec23a4.jpeg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:* "The 2026 Met Gala Celebrating "Costume Art" - Arrivals")
Her pastel Donatella Versace design was from the Italian fashion house's spring/summer 2006 collection. Consisting of a bejewelled bodice with a voluminous skirt that was decorated in a painterly effect, drawing on 18th-century Venetian Rococo works. The dress further leaned into the ‘Fashion Is Art’ dress code of the evening by evoking architecture, specifically the curves often featured in Baroque church interiors, echoed in the sculptural protrusions at Blake's waist.
Additionally, her accessories provided a more personal touch as the actress revealed her custom Judith Leiber Couture minaudière incorporated artwork created by her and husband Ryan Reynolds' four children; James, Inez, Betty, and Olin.
Back in 2022, the Gossip Girl star wore an Atelier Versace dress for the “Gilded Glamour” theme, a look she styled herself with Lorraine Schwartz jewellery. The gown was widely considered one of the best dressed of the night, helped by an iconic transformation mid-way up the museum steps. The dress in question went on to be displayed as part of Kensington Palace's 'Crown to Couture' Exhibit a year later – though not without incident, as Blake herself totally broke museum protocol when she attended the exhibit and risked clambering over the ropes to get up close and personal with her dress.
In fact, Blake was long considered a Met mainstay, first attending all the way back in 2008 and garnering a reputation for pulling out all the stops in jaw-dropping looks in the years since. Her Met Gala looks have been well-documented over the years, and while we're not convinced anything can top her 2022 look, this may be a close second.
Mehera Bonner is a celebrity and entertainment news writer who enjoys Bravo and Antiques Roadshow with equal enthusiasm, She was previously entertainment editor at Marie Claire and has covered pop culture for over a decade.
Alexandria Dale is the Digital Fashion Writer at Cosmopolitan UK. Covering everything from the celebrity style moments worth knowing about to the latest fashion news, there’s nothing she loves more than finding a high street dupe of a must-have designer item. As well as discovering new brands, she’s passionate about sustainable fashion and establishing the trends that are actually worth investing in. Having worked in fashion journalism for six years, she has experience at both digital and print publications including Glamour and Ok!
