Richie Shazam’s Debut Photo Book Is a Maximalist Fantasia

In model, artist, and photographer Richie Shazam’s debut photo book, Shazam, more is very much more. The tome is an amalgamation of all things Richie, reconciling her fascination with the art of self-presentation and self-portrait with a knack for conjuring pure, joyful fantasy. Made up of some 190 zany images produced by (and featuring) Shazam herself, the book was also a tried-and-true team effort, engaging her vast community of artist friends and chosen family as collaborators. 

Here, the artist tells Vogue all about the making of Shazam. 

Vogue: How did this book come together? 

Richie Shazam: I’ve always wanted to create some sort of imprint where all of my ideas could live as a physical artifact. I feel like I’ve sort of created this world [in which] I interact and engage with so many people, and I really wanted the book to be something people could pick up in the present moment, but also 50 years from now. I’ve always been heavily inspired by fashion books and books that my predecessors and contemporaries have worked on, and I wanted to add to that incredible lineage and step out and show everyone what we can do.

Your signature style blends fantasy and reality. In packaging it for a book, was there anything in particular that you wanted to get across?

I think working in that duality, I wanted this book to give hope. I think the book is innately a piece of protest, and this Pride Month is a protest. There’s so much active legislation that’s working towards our erasure, and I feel like I’m constantly and perpetually in a state of survival mode and survival function. I wanted to really offer hope to myself and to my community, my intimate community, but also the community at large. I want to show people there’s a lot of nuanced ideas ingrained in the imagery. And I think that images are impactful, in a sort of riotous way.

What was it like creating the images? 

There are endless [works], [works] that didn’t even make the cut. When you create a space that entails unlimited possibilities, the mind can just go wild. And that’s sort of what I wanted to capture in this. My best friend—my soul sister—Briana Andalore worked on all the looks. I had so many incredible hair and makeup artists work on the book. And they’re a very big part of my storytelling. It’s this beautiful, chaotic mix of incredible individuals. 

I’m really getting into the crux of the work. Usually when we’re on set there are so many limitations, and I didn’t want any of that. I wanted everyone to wear multiple hats and be very collaborative. I just wanted to honor them as well, by honoring their efforts and what they’re able to do. 

Is there an image that you are particularly proud of?

I think some of my favorite images are some of the shots that we [made] at the end—me as the Statue of Liberty. We reinterpreted it so wild, and things were on fire, and I was in the middle of the street in this big pile of garbage. You can’t see something until it’s printed, and when I saw that image, it just made me feel like this is my love letter to the city that I love so much. We all have such powerful stories, and that one image just feels like it encapsulates a lot of who I am in a visual form. 

This conversation has been edited and condensed.