How Hannah Einbinder Got Ready for the Premiere of Hacks Season 3 at SXSW

As actress and stand-up comedian Hannah Einbinder embraced her co-star Jean Smart at the Hacks season 3 premiere on March 9, hosted at SXSW in Austin, Texas, it was easy to imagine the angst between their two characters might have dissipated entirely. In the celebrated Max comedy, Einbinder plays Ava, writer and protégé to Smart’s ascendant comedy queen Deborah Vance. But by the end of season 2, their fruitful partnership is in tatters, with Deborah celebrating her successful comedy special while Ava’s picking up her scattered notes to build her own career. With season 3 approaching, Hacks co-creator and writer Jen Statsky teased to Vanity Fair that the dynamic between Deborah and Ava is “a boss-employee relationship, but it’s also a deep love and friendship. We’re exploring how complicated that can be this season.”

It’s fitting, then, that Einbinder would introduce season 3 Ava—a more mature, independent version—through a similarly mature look on the SXSW red carpet. Styled by Jamie Mizrahi with makeup by Erin Lee Smith and hair by Jerrod Roberts, Einbinder strutted along the step-and-repeat in an angelic sheer Proenza Schouler dress paired with a scarlet Proenza Schouler bag and Jimmy Choo shoes. In an exclusive behind-the-scenes diary shared with ELLE.com, Einbinder took us through her getting-ready process ahead of the night. Read through her captions below.