Blake Lively Chose Archival Versace—and a 13-Foot Train!—for Her 2026 Met Gala Return
Surprise! Blake Lively made her grand return to the 2026 Met Gala on Monday night. (The star, who last attended the event in 2022, had been a regular fixture on the Met steps over the years, attending 10 times prior to tonight.)
To mark her buzzy entrance onto this year’s red carpet, the star chose an archival Atelier Versace number from spring 2006. A decade later, the glamorous gown clearly still feels relevant.
“It’s an honor to attend with Donatella, one that I don’t take lightly,” Lively tells Vogue. “I haven’t been since giving birth to my fourth child. Every year I am a different version of myself than the last, so to be able to stand in the version of myself that I am today—and all the experiences I‘ve had—in strength and confidence is important to me. So is staying home on the couch with my kids in pajamas: Getting to do both, is an honor I will never stop being grateful for.”
“Blake looks stunning in archive Atelier Versace,” adds Donatella Versace. “She has had so many iconic Versace moments at the Met, and tonight is no exception.”
Photo: Getty Images
Drawing inspiration from the “Fashion Is Art” dress code, Lively chose a pastel Atelier Versace gown that featured three-dimensional architectural elements, all inspired by 18th-century Venetian Rococo paintings. “Because the theme is based in art, I wanted to wear an archival piece,” says Lively. “Clothing really is a canvas, and it tells a story, so to be able to pull from a piece that has its own history, and has stood the test of time, felt special.”
The draped bodice—which clung to the body with an almost liquid-like construction—was embroidered with gemstones in shades of powdery pinks, yellows, corals, peaches, and lilacs. At the hips, four three-dimensional structures—acting as “bays”—evoked the architecture of a Baroque church. The sweeping four-meter skirt, meanwhile, featured fabric that dissolved into a painted sunset-like sky.
Lively during fittings.
Photo: Courtesy of Blake Lively
