When it comes to the annual Met Gala, few celebrity arrivals are as highly anticipated as that of Blake Lively. From her first appearance in 2008 at the start of her Gossip Girl fame, to eventually collaborating on custom-made gowns so ornate they involved more than 600 hours of labor and required a party bus, Lively’s attendance at the Costume Institute Benefit has also served as a way to showcase her style evolution, including her ability to match her ensemble to the Met Gala carpet. The actress’ fashionable triumphs are even more impressive considering she famously does it all sans stylist.
Unfortunately for those of us eagerly waiting Lively’s look for the 2023 Met Gala, the actress recently revealed she won’t be in attendance this year. While at the re-opening of the Tiffany & Co. flagship store in New York City, mere days before the first Monday in May, Lively confirmed that she won’t be at this year’s soirée, and instead, will be watching the Met Gala at home.
While she’ll be sorely missed on the red carpet for this year’s extravaganza honoring Karl Lagerfeld, Lively’s past 10 Met Gala moments provide us with plenty of gowns to rediscover. Ahead, get the details on all of Lively’s best Met Gala moments, from her very first benefit as a style star in the making, to her wonderfully over-the-top 2022 tribute to New York City.
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1. 2008, “Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy”
in Ralph Lauren
Lively made her Met Gala debut while starring as Upper East Side It girl Serena van der Woodsen on Gossip Girl. Attending with her co-star (and then-boyfriend) Penn Badgley, Lively wore a black strapless Ralph Lauren gown with a feather-trimmed hem. She accessorized the look with stacks of diamond bracelets and short black gloves, which were a nod to her Gossip Girl counterpart, as Serena wore similar black gloves, paired with a show-stopping yellow Ralph Lauren dress, during the show’s season one finale.
2. 2009, “The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion”
in Versace
The following year, Lively went for a more colorful ensemble, as she donned a blue single-sleeved gown by Versace that featured a dramatic, thigh-high slit and deep v-neckline. Lively let her dress make the statement, and kept accessories to a minimum, along with a simple slicked-back ponytail.
3. 2010, “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity”
in Marchesa
Lively chose a similar blue color (and another one-shoulder look) for the American Woman-themed 2010 Met Gala, though this time she opted for New York-based designer Marchesa. While floor-length gowns are often the go-to silhouette, Lively stood apart in this mini dress, which had textural floral detailing and an asymmetrical sleeve.
4. 2011, “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty”
in Chanel
After being named the face of Chanel’s Mademoiselle handbag earlier that year, and starring in a campaign shot by the French design house’s creative director, Karl Lagerfeld, Lively attended the 2011 Met Gala on the arm of the designer himself. For the occasion, Lively wore a Grecian-inspired gown from Lagerfeld’s fall 2009 Chanel couture collection, which had a silver-embroidered nude bodice and draped silhouette.
5. 2013, “Punk: Chaos to Couture”
in Gucci
The 2013 Met Gala called for edginess, which in Lively’s case meant a two-toned strapless Gucci gown. The designer choice wasn’t a huge surprise, as in 2012, the actress was named the face of the Gucci Première fragrance. The fitted blue-grey bodice seamlessly flowed into a tiered black organza skirt, which gave the appearance of a feathered train. To give the look even more of a punk edge, Lively’s hair was styled in a bubble ponytail, complemented by a dark smokey eye.
6. 2014, “Charles James: Beyond Fashion”
in Gucci
Blake Lively really began to establish her reign as a Met Gala style star in 2014, which also happened to be the first year she attended the event with her husband, Ryan Reynolds, whom she married in 2012. The “Charles James: Beyond Fashion” theme came with a white tie dress code, but Likely opted to forgo the structured ball gown design so closely associated with Charles James. Instead, Lively sported a body-skimming blush pink Gucci Première gown, embroidered with shimmering rose gold paillettes and an attention-grabbing stunning chiffon train. “This is more of the Charles James times, ’40s and ’50s,” Lively previously told People. Lively’s beauty look also channeled Old Hollywood, with side-swept waves and a muted red lip.
7. 2016, “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology”
in Burberry
Lively celebrated the integration of fashion and technology at the 2016 Met Gala (at which pal Taylor Swift was co-chair) in a pink silk organza strapless Burberry gown. The flowing dress had a detachable cape that was hand-dyed and featured laser-cut red and pink flower petals, which just so happened to perfectly match that year’s red-and-pink carpet. “She gets involved in the creation and design process, and that’s very inspiring,” Burberry’s then-chief creative officer, Christopher Bailey, who attended the Met Gala with Lively, told Vogue of collaborating with the actress. “We loved the idea of blending intricate handcrafted techniques with highly technical fabrics.” Lively, who was pregnant with her second child at the time, also matched her makeup and accessories to the dress, with glitzy Lorraine Schwartz jewels and a classic red lip.
8. 2017, “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between”
in Atelier Versace
Though the 2017 Met Gala honored Comme des Garçons designer Rei Kawakubo, Lively opted for a custom-made Atelier Versace gown. The long-sleeve dress had a fitted bodice with attention-grabbing draped gold beading and chains, but it was the feathered train, which started in golden hues and ended in shades of bright blue, that really stole the show, and also marked Lively’s second year seamlessly coordinating with the Met Gala red carpet.
9. 2018, “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination”
in Atelier Versace
Lively once again went for a custom Atelier Versace gown the following year, and wore what was arguably the best look from the 2018 Met Gala—and certainly one of the actress’ most glam moments of all time. The ornate ruby red and gold gown reportedly took over 600 hours to create, thanks in large part to the crystal-encrusted bustier and intricately embroidered skirt and train (yes, it did perfectly match the carpet, once again!). The head-to-toe bespoke look included Christian Louboutin heels, a Judith Leiber clutch adorned with a medieval-style family crest, as well as the ensemble’s most obvious reference to Catholicism, in the form of a golden halo composed of 100 carats worth of of champagne diamonds, by Lively’s go-to jeweler, Lorraine Schwartz.
10. 2022, “In America: An Anthology of Fashion”
in Atelier Versace
Lively went all out for the 2022 Met Gala, at which she and Reynolds were two of the evening’s co-chairs. The night also marked the Met Gala’s return to its usual slot on the first Monday in May, after it was called off in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and moved to September in 2021.
For the unveiling of the second part of the Costume Institute’s “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” exhibit, Lively put her own creative twist on the night’s “Gilded Glamour” dress code. “Rather than looking at fashion from the Gilded Age, I wanted to look at architecture,” Lively told Vogue, and she took her cue from New York’s most iconic buildings and structures. Lively arrived in a custom Atelier Versace dress in a copper shade, with matching opera-length gloves. Shortly after posing for a few photos with Reynolds, Lively ascended the stairs and revealed a second outfit, as the statement bow on her gown was untied, and turned into a patina-inspired cascading train, meant to mirror the Statue of Liberty’s transformation from bronze to oxidized copper. The gown’s tulle column included lines of embroidered crystals that paid tribute to the Empire State Building, while the train featured a hand-painted foil and embroidered recreation of Grand Central Station’s constellation ceiling. Lively confirmed that the constellation detailing was, in fact, a nod to her Gossip Girl days, in homage to the show’s opening shot of Serena van der Woodsen arriving at Grand Central Station.