Donatella Versace, 71, puts on an ageless display in embellished minidress as she arrives at Met Gala pre party after appearing to 'reverse' her plastic surgeries

Donatella Versace rang in her 71st birthday in style on Saturday night, as she attended Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos' starry pre-Met Gala party in New York City.

While marking another year around the sun, the fashion designer looked more youthful than ever as she arrived in a figure-hugging little black dress adorned in colourful embellishments resembling fireworks.

The Italian icon ensured all eyes were on her long legs as she sported a pair of over-the-knee leather boots with a towering platform heel.

Donatella completed her striking look with chandelier earrings, a designer handbag and palette of flawless make-up, to accentuate her age-defying visage.

The fashion mogul has sparked much of speculation over the years about her changing appearance, despite only publicly admitting she's had Botox.

But in recent years, she has displayed a distinctly more fresh-faced complexion, while her top lip appears thinner and her cheeks less puffy.

Donatella's 'reversed' cosmetic surgery look won her heaps of praise in December 2024, when she attended The Devil Wears Prada musical launch with a noticeably transformed appearance.

Fans were stunned by her youthful visage, calling it 'the biggest upgrade in history' and drawing comparisons to Lindsay Lohan's recent major beauty transformation.

They took to X at the time to proclaim: 'People, someone needs to find out who this doctor in Hollywood is who is performing these miracles'; 'This is shocking not gonna lie';

'The plastic surgeon who's doing these faces is probably one of the best out there…TOP TIER WORK!! He's in NY & not even trying to be known'; 

'If you have the money you can buy youth'; 'I'm sure it's the same doctor as Lindsay, Demi and Brad'; 

'From Lindsay Lohan to Donatella Versace, 2024 will officially be remembered as the year of faces that inexplicably transformed'.

Her glamorous outing comes after Donatella made a glitzy cameo in The Devil Wears Prada 2, which was released in cinemas this week.

The fashion icon's appearance in the highly-anticipated sequel comes after she was name-dropped several times in the original 2007 film.

She was pictured filming scenes in Milan back in October alongside leading lady Anne Hathaway, who reprised her role as Andy Sachs.

The 2026 Met Gala - set to take place on Monday night - has been shrouded in controversy this year, due to Sanchez and Bezos' involvement as honorary co-chairs.

The billionaire couple are making their debut as honorary co-chairs and lead donors for fashion's biggest night. However, their involvement has been met with backlash. 

Posters have been put up around Manhattan ahead of fashion's biggest night which read: 'Boycott The Bezos Met Gala.' 

A fashion industry insider told the Daily Mail: 'It's, quite frankly, very hurtful and very disturbing for [the Bezoses] to be the face of this year's Met Gala, something that is really meaningful to a lot of people and to such a highly regarded and highly respected institution.

'It feels like a real slap in the face to a lot of people.'

Indeed, the Daily Mail has learned that the Bezos' involvement has cast a shadow over the ritzy event, dubbed the Oscars of fashion for its unabashed display of opulent glamour.

According to our source, at least one A-list heavyweight has pulled out of Met Gala programming as a result.

The Daily Mail has been told that Meryl Streep was rumoured to have been one of the Met Gala's co-chairs this year, but allegedly declined to do so because of the Bezoses' bankrolling and presiding over the party as guests of honour.

However, former Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour previously defended the couple's involvement in the annual fundraiser.

'I think Lauren is going to be a wonderful asset to the museum and to the event,' she told CNN last year in November.

She added: '[I'm] very grateful for her incredible generosity, and she's a great lover of costume and obviously of fashion, so we're thrilled she's part of the night.'

Alongside Anna, Bezos and Sanchez, this year's co-chairs include Beyonce, Venus Williams and Nicole Kidman. 

This year's dress code is 'Fashion Is Art,' which will serve as a more specific baseline for guests against the gala's overall theme of 'Costume Art.'

The New York City museum will pair historical and contemporary garments from the Costume Institute for the exhibition, which will be loosely divided into three categories: the classical and nude; the anatomical; and the underrepresented, such as the pregnant and the aging body.