Met Gala 2022: Blake Lively puts on a show-stopping display during arrival with Ryan Reynolds

Blake Lively put on a show-stopping display while arriving with husband Ryan Reynolds to the star-studded Met Gala in New York City on Monday.

The actress, 34, stunned in a jeweled strapless Versace gown with a dramatic pink bow sash that trailed behind her as she strolled the red carpet with her better half.

As if her dazzling dress weren’t enough to top the best dress list, Blake’s glam squad removed the hefty bow from the star’s hip which transformed her train from pink to blue in the blink of an eye.

Stopping to chat on the red carpet, Blake explained that her look for the night was inspired directly by ‘New York City architecture’ and the city’s ‘historic buildings,’ such as the Empire State Building and Grand Central station.

Blake and her husband Ryan Reynolds, who looked suave in a burgundy tuxedo, are serving as one of the evening’s hosts, alongside Regina King and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants star was captured arriving to the gala with her and Ryan’s arms linked.

Blake looked like royalty in the strapless number which had glistening jewels from the bust to the hem.

Her sash, which was a mauve pink shade, tied at the waist into a bow and had a metallic orange overlay that sparked under the museum lights.

Adding to the drama, Blake had on a pair of mauve pink arm-length gloves and a crown rested atop her flowing blonde tresses.

As for jewelry, the stunner fastened a pair of dangly jeweled earrings to her ears.  

Out of nowhere, Blake shocked photographers and fellow attendees as a crew of tuxedo-clad men helped undo the bow on her gown to transform her lengthy train from pink to blue.

She also slipped off her gloves to unveil a pair of matching blue opera gloves with bronze detailing on the upper arm.

The stunning blue variant of Blake’s train had zodiac-inspired imagery embroidered in gold throughout, as well as bronze streaks that began at the waist and drifted off towards the hem of the dress.

‘Instead of looking to fashion to influence the dress, I looked to New York City architecture and the classic buildings’ Blake told red carpet correspondent Vanessa Hudgens of her gown.

The Zodiac train represented the constellation from Grand Central station,’ while the body of her gown was inspired by the Empire State Building.

‘The draping [on my dress] is the Statue of Liberty plus the crown [on my head]. The crown has seven tiers. That Statue of Liberty has seven rays,’ explained the starlet, adding that the seven tiers also gave nod to the seven seas and continents.

Last but not least, Blake noted that jewelry designer Lorraine Schwartz placed ’25 stones on the bottom [of my crown]’ as an homage to the 25 windows on the Statue Of Liberty.

The dress also served as the inspiration for Blake’s beauty look, with her longtime makeup artist Kristofer Buckle explaining: ‘Blake’s look was inspired by warm-toned metals and coppers starting with a bronzed contour on the skin. 

‘Her eyes were washed with a combination of matte browns for structure and metallic rose golds and coppers to play off her Versace gown. I made her lips a gentle terracotta tone to bring some brightness to the makeup palette.’ 

Kristofer used a host of Charlotte Tilbury products on the hostess with the mostest, including the soon-to-launch-Beautiful Skin Sun-Kissed Glow Bronzer, which marked one of the only times the product has been worn on the red carpet ahead of its May 19 release. 

The metallic rose gold and copper shades used on her eyes came courtesy of the Luxury Palette of Pops in Pillow Talk, while her lips were primped to perfection using the Lip Cheat in Pillow Talk Medium and the Matte Revolution Lipstick in Sexy Sienna. 

Finally, the actress’s complexion was giving a radiant boost with the Airbrush Flawless Foundation.  

Though his spouse of over a decade stole the show, Ryan looked undeniably handsome in his burgundy velvet tuxedo.

The Deadpool star styled the chic getup with a white dress shirt and matching bow tie. He had a small white flower pinned to his left lapel and a handkerchief sticking out of his jacket pocket.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit, also known as the Met Gala, is considered by many as the ‘Super Bowl of celebrity red carpets.’

Fashion’s biggest night is traditionally held the first Monday in May to raise money for the Costume Institute in New York City, with last year’s event moved to September due to the pandemic. 

This year’s dress code is ‘gilded glamour’ to match the theme of ‘In America: An Anthology of Fashion,’ a continuation of last year’s ‘In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.’

Tickets for the glitzy event can reportedly cost up to $35,000 apiece, while prices for a table range from $200,000 to $300,000, with last year’s bash raking in a  whopping $16.4 million for the Met’s Costume Institute. 

This will be Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first time as a Met Gala co-chair (and guest) but he was originally intended to co-host the 2020 edition before the pandemic forced its cancellation. 

Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour is once again supervising the benefit as chairwoman, a position she’s held since 1995. Her fellow honorary co-chairs are designer Tom Ford and Instagram head Adam Mosseri. 

As usual, the sartorial theme comes from the exhibit the gala launches: ‘In America: An Anthology of Fashion,’ which is the second of star curator Andrew Bolton’s two-part show exploring the roots of American style.

This exhibit will showcase some lesser-known designers, and also some top film directors, including Sofia Coppola, Martin Scorsese, host King, and last year’s Oscar winner Chloé Zhao.

Bolton said eight directors will create what he called ‘cinematic vignettes’ in the period rooms of the American Wing of the museum. 

Similar to the September event, there will be 400 guests this year, lower than the pre-pandemic highs of 500-600 attendees. 

The other four are Ford, the celebrated fashion designer who’s also an acclaimed film director, Janicza Bravo (Zola), Julie Dash (Daughters Of The Dust) and Autumn de Wilde (who directed the Jane Austen adaptation Emma. and is also a photographer).

The first part of the exhibition will remain on display in the rooms of the Anna Wintour Costume Center, along with the second part, until September 5.

More than half the pieces in the opening exhibition will be rotated out and garments from designers not yet featured will go on display.

The Met Gala is a huge money-maker for the museum, and provides the Costume Institute with its main source of funding.