Blake Lively Struggled to Find a Designer to Dress Her for 2026 Met Gala, Star ‘Comes With Baggage’

Blake Lively looked radiant at the 2026 Met Gala on May 4, donning an archival Atelier Versace gown for the “Fashion Is Art” dress code — but she reportedly did not have an easy time finding a designer to work with.

“This wasn’t about designers being afraid of looking mean,” a source told Rob Shuter in the Friday, May 8 edition of the Naughty But Nice Substack. “It was about not wanting to look like they were backing a mean girl.”

Sources told Shuter that the 38 year-old Gossip Girl alum’s It Ends With Us lawsuit damaged her image and raised concerns among certain brands.

“Blake’s brand has absolutely collapsed in certain fashion circles,” a second source explained. “A few years ago, having Blake wear your gown was considered a huge win. Now some designers think it hurts more than it helps.”

“Luxury brands are obsessed with image,” a third insider pointed out. “Right now, Blake comes with baggage, drama, and polarization — and fashion houses hate distraction.”

However, things changed for Lively when Vogue legend Anna Wintour, the lead chairperson of the annual fashion gala, stepped in.

“Once Anna publicly backed Blake, the resistance softened immediately,” a fourth insider stated. “Without her, Blake probably doesn’t get through the door in the same way.”

Wintour even had the A Simple Favor star seated at her table, sources noted.

As Star previously reported, Lively settled the It Ends With Us lawsuit on Monday, April 4, the same day as the Met Gala, with lawyers from both sides issuing a joint statement.

Lively’s legal saga had begun in December 2024 when she alleged that her costar and director, Justin Baldoni, sexually harassed her on the set of It Ends With Us. In April, Judge Lewis Liman threw out 10 of Lively’s 13 claims, including all those against Baldoni.

“You were left with a case that was really Blake Lively versus It Ends with Us, the movie LLC, the agency group, and Wayfarer Studios, so it was a very different case at the point in time that we had those settlement discussions than ever was before,” Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, told Extra on Tuesday, May 5.

“This is not his settlement,” Freedman noted of Baldoni. “He’s already out of the case by the time this settlement discussion even starts. Justin Baldoni is not a party, and that’s what gets forgotten a lot.”