Lashana Lynch is a directional dresser—an actor who, her former red carpet collaborator Marco Capaldo says, “enjoys clothes and uses them as a tool to express her creativity.” But for the New York premiere of The Day of the Jackal (yours to binge on Peacock in the United States on November 14 or Sky in the United Kingdom come November 7), Lynch wanted something a little more personal than the rambunctious Roksanda ruffles or the gunmetal Bond girl Dolce sequins she’s made a splash in before. To announce her pregnancy (a surprise for her co-star Eddie Redmayne, too!), the 36-year-old Londoner looked to Ottolinger for a dress that, says Lynch, made her feel exactly like herself.

“I wanted to keep the look really simple, poignant and effective,” shares the star, who plays a tenacious MI6 agent balancing motherhood with the relentless pursuit of an assassin named—you guessed it—The Jackal in the edge-of-your-seat drama. Ottolinger was a no-brainer to help Lynch celebrate this boss-bitch mentality (“I’ve wanted a messy character for a while!”) and femininity in all its forms: “I feel comfortable and at ease, but also in charge of myself. Some red carpet gowns, although beautiful and stunning, feel like you’re putting on a different part of yourself, whereas here I feel like I’m celebrating the female figure.”

Of course, this being Lynch, it’s never just a dress. Her “non-traditional” look—finished with Otiumberg jewelry and a bag and shoes from Louboutin—combines the punkish tailoring Swiss-born designers Christa Bösch and Cosima Gadient are known for with the streetwear Lynch holds dear, along with a deep understanding of what works for her. “For every premiere, you want to make sure you’re putting your best self forward. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that what you come with naturally is so beautiful and deserves to be celebrated in its own right,” Lynch says. “You don’t have to put anything on you in order for you to feel stunning on a red carpet. Here, I get to just be comfy and chill. That’s kind of me all over, really.”

The release of the political thriller marks a major milestone for Lynch in more ways than one. As a co-executive producer, she got to dive deeper into women’s representation on screen and elevate the narratives she cares about—something she hopes translates in her styling choices, curated with the help of Karen Clarkson. “I have spent many years trying to figure out what I’m trying to represent on the carpet every single time I release a project,” explains Lynch. “I’ve played a lot with colors and textures and lengths and volume and I’m really grateful for those moments because they’ve helped me grow as a woman. The roles that I’m playing right now are very much breaking through the glass ceiling. And I think fashion should also reflect that, so that’s what this dress is doing.”

As Lynch moves into the next chapter of her life (she’s keeping her due date for her first child with husband Zackary Momoh under wraps), could Hollywood ask for a better role model?

Sneak a glimpse behind the scenes of Lynch’s getting-ready process here:

Photographer: Julieta Cervantes. Hair: Ursula Stephen. Make-up: Jessica Smalls. Stylist: Karen Clarkson.