Lena Dunham revealed that her red feathered Valentino gown at the 2026 Met Gala on May 4 was inspired by the blood spatter in Artemisia Gentileschi's 17th century painting “Judith Slaying Holofernes." “I shared that inspiration with Alessandro,” Lena told ‘Vogue,’ “but because his brain works in the most magical ways, rather than leaning into the Renaissance garments or the swords or any of it, he was attracted to a particular blood spatter on the neck of Holofernes.” And while the designer offered Lena a straightforward interpretation of the artwork for the “Costume Art”-themed gala on May 4 at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lena found herself leaning towards the abstract version. Lena added, “I feel this dress embodies all of it.” The ‘Famesick’ author said knew she wanted to work with Valentino’s Alessandro as she’d be attending the Costume Institute benefit as a member of the host committee—with Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and Anna Wintour on co-chair duty. Full ...