Richie Shazam Embraced Symbolic Style at the Premiere of Her Documentary

Richie Shazam’s new short film, Found Family—which debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival this weekend—explores how the model struggled with her femme identity while growing up in her native New York. “I had gender dysphoria, and I felt disconnected from my body,” Shazam says in the film. Feeling lost, the model would often ride the subway for hours just to escape her disapproving home life, or jet around the city in search of a new community that would accept her. At 18, she met her lifelong friends Briana Andalore and Julia Fox, who immediately encouraged Shazam to be herself. “They would always give me shelter, food, clothes,” says Shazam. “They gave me all of the tools I needed to be myself, and always did it with no judgment and open arms.”

Produced with Converse, the short film is directed by Shazam and creative-directed by her partner, Ben Draghi. It follows Shazam as she’s found her core family of creatives in the city, and how they’ve all helped shape her into the creative multi-hyphenate that she is today. “We’ve reached this new space in our relationship and in our creativity,” says Shazam. “It’s an endless cycle where we all come together, create, and have fun; We challenge each other and push each other to take risks. It’s never a dull moment in the household. It’s a strong safety net that I feel so fortunate to have—I ride for my sisters.”

For the film’s premiere on Friday night, Shazam certainly embraced this spirit of community: She got ready at friend Andalore’s house alongside her partner Draghi and close friends like Fox, Paloma Elsesser, and Cara Braglia. Makeup artist Rommy Najor, hairstylist Evanie Frausto, and stylist Julio Cesar Delgado were also on glam—it was a whole family affair. “My core glam group are like part of my family,” says Shazam. “We work together consistently and they just always know what time it is. Clothing and glam is so important to how I tell stories; it’s a big part of my history and formulating my identity.”

Given the film was making its big debut, Shazam wanted to make sure she had several strong looks for the celebratory premiere. For the main carpet, she wore a Loewe trench coat dress with silver armor plating at the waist. “It was almost like looking in a mirror,” Shazam says of the look. “I felt really free. The silver plate is like armor, and the film is all about standing tall and being yourself [despite] whatever is happening in the world.”

For the Q&A panel after the film, which she did with Andalore and Fox, she switched into a black, sheer Peter Do number that Shazam describes as her “Hollywood glam fantasy.” For the after-party at Spring Studios, meanwhile, she ended her marathon of style with an Area Couture ensemble including a butterfly top and bottoms, and fuzzy thigh-high boots to boot. “I felt like a butterfly, coming out of my cocoon,” says Shazam.

Aside from debuting her first short film, however, Shazam’s favorite part of the evening was the after-after party—where she and her crew headed over to Paul’s Baby Grand for some dancing into the wee hours. “Everyone was there and we were all dropping it low on the dance floor,” says Shazam. “We used to go there all the time back in the day, because we used to live right over there—so it felt like coming back home in a way.”