As a co-chair of the highly anticipated 2022 Met Gala, we were fully expecting Blake Lively to smash it in the style stakes – but she has truly exceeded expectations this year, arriving on the red carpet wearing a gown by Atelier Versace.
Lively's princess-style dress transformed as she ascended the Met's steps – quite literally. The actress' dress was adorned with a gigantic bow, which assistants stepped in to 'unwrap', transforming the dress from rose gold to aqua blue before the audience's eyes.
Explaining the inspiration behind her 2022 Met Gala look, Blake Lively told The Cut: 'Instead of looking to fashion to influence the dress, I looked to New York City architecture and classic buildings.'
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Indicating the train of her dress, Lively said 'this is the constellation of Grand central station'. Her bodice, meanwhile, was inspired by the Empire State Building while the draping and crown by the Statue of Liberty. Lively went on to explain that the crown has seven tiers just like the Statue has seven rays.
The actor is co-chairing this year's 'In America: An Anthology of Fashion'-themed gala alongside husband Ryan Reynolds, Regina King and Lin-Manuel Miranda. The museum has also partnered with pioneering directors for this year's proceedings including Regina King, Sofia Coppola, Martin Scorsese and 2021 Oscar winner Chloé Zhao to create 'cinematic vignettes' for the exhibition.
Lively's dramatic fashion looks have been a highlight of the Met Gala red carpet over the years, and have just got better and better since she started attending in 2008.
For the 2018 Gala, themed 'Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination', the Gossip Girl star walked the steps of the Met in a crimson Versace gown complete with embroidered bodice, bejewelled straps, and an extra-long train, all of which took 600 hours to make by hand. She paired the gown with a sweet tribute to her family: a custom-made Judith Leiber rhinestone clutch embellished with the initials 'B', 'R', 'J' and 'I' as well as their family surname 'Reynolds'.
One of the best-loved A-list couples of recent years, Lively and Reynolds last attended a Met Gala together back in 2017. The duo missed the smaller-scale 2021 Met Gala, themed 'In America: A Lexicon of Fashion', preferring instead to enjoy the proceedings from the comfort of home as Lively shared some of her favourite past Met Gala looks via Instagram stories.
Every Time Blake Lively Rocked 'Gossip Girl' Chic On The Red Carpet And At Home
Clementina Jackson is Acting Site Fashion Editor at ELLE UK, working across news and features, trends, e-commerce and SEO. She was previously Fashion Editor at Cosmopolitan and Women’s Health, and Acting Digital Fashion Editor at ELLE UK, where she was named as a PPA 30 Under 30 award winner for her work on size inclusivity. An experienced fashion, travel and luxury lifestyle journalist, Clementina has also written for Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair, Condé Nast Traveller, Tatler, Red and Italy Segreta.
