Meet Razieme Iborra | Creative Director & Cowgirl

We had the good fortune of connecting with Razieme Iborra and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Razieme, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
Everything crafted in my creative career to date has been made in the pursuit of the unapologetic — with my greatest asset being the balance I’ve found, on the tightrope between knowing when to withhold, and when to push.

The tentpoles of my work — and my world — have become deeply rooted in values of authenticity, grit, and ruggedness. The closer I am to unapologetically embracing and expressing these values, the more alive my work becomes. And while not every project or client piece inherently leans into these values… that’s where the wire tightens. Where should I hold back? Where can I push? What can I create within restraint? And if there’s room to move, how can I bring the work closer to what I value?

That’s how I continue to shape a career, that’s how the work becomes mine.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am infatuated with the West. It is a collision of all I am — a lifelong horsewoman, a reformed redneck, a gritty cowgirl pioneering her own path. I strive to make immersive, Americana-driven work that aids in dismantling the division that’s become synonymous with the experience of being American. Through these unflinching yet empathetic portraits, my work aims to immortalize my deeply personal search for self and home — ultimately asking audiences to prod, poke, dismantle, and defy the boundaries of who they are and who they might be.

Today, I work as both a creative director and a filmmaker — a duality that allows me to continue exploring the edges of my interests, and my identity. Having been raised in a small Ohio hometown, devoid of any ties to arts and entertainment, I’ve had to build my career with my hands, bit by bit. My only blueprint was the commitment I felt to my own values — guided by instinct, not instruction.

My most recent work ranges from creative direction on fashion campaigns for Zandria’s genre-bending cowboy hats and large-scale commercial efforts for Sabrina Carpenter’s Dunkin’ Daydream Refreshers, to directing my forthcoming hybrid Western-documentary, HOW THE WEST WAS ONE.

Zandria: https://www.instagram.com/p/DIpiBL2pjY0/?img_index=1
Dunkin’ Daydream Hotline: https://www.instagram.com/p/DLU-dk0Ri-_/?img_index=1
HOW THE WEST WAS ONE: https://www.razieme.com/work/howthewestwasone
[hyperlink if possible]

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My number one spot in all of LA is Desert 5. A Hollywood rooftop honkytonk, it’s like no where else in town. I love their pool parties on Sundays.

Other than that, I’m a sucker for the sea bass at Bacari, the crispy rice at All Time, an iced vanilla latte from Obet and Dell, and Friday night barrel racing at Gibson Ranch.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Cowgirls have always felt like heroes to me — I’ve been trying to be one since I started riding at the age of seven. I’ve felt firsthand the power of Americana myth, the healing power of horses, the lure in wildness… and how deeply these things tie us to one another.

Since landing in LA five years ago, I’ve been inseverable from its small but fiercely devoted Western and equestrian community. In a city often known for surface and spectacle, these people have kept me rooted into myself. I’d like to shout out my community — to those keeping the West alive in LA, to those living authentically as themselves, to those who ain’t afraid of a little dirt every now and again.

Website: https://www.razieme.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raziemeiborra/

Image Credits
The title image and one of me in the same outfit on the horse – please credit Megan Malone. The second two images of me in the black lace top – please credit Noah Mensink. The four images of me in the gold top – please credit Dustin Genereux. The last image in front of the theatre – please credit Kayla Bright Photography.