Some people have one stage persona, Lawunda Richardson has something more fluid: a world that exists somewhere between two identities, two artistic practices and two ways of moving through Berlin.

Born and raised in Lakeland, Florida, Lawunda trained in ballet from a young age before moving into professional dance, eventually studying at Alonzo King LINES Ballet in San Francisco and joining a dance company in Minneapolis. It was there, alongside her career in dance, that she discovered drag — first through her queer community and later as an artistic language of her own. Today, she performs both as a contemporary dancer with Sasha Waltz & Guests in Berlin and as Lawunda, a drag artist whose performances have taken her across the city and around the world.

The two sides are not opposites. If anything, they feed each other. As Dominique, movement, discipline and years of dance training shape the body; as Lawunda, those same instincts become character, music, costume, humour and transformation. She describes the relationship between the two simply: they are both chaotic, and they feed off each other’s energy.

A transformation at Amazingy

We invited Lawunda into our Berlin office for a very special shoot — and had the chance to capture the transformation from Dominique to Lawunda through makeup, colour and character with HIRO Cosmetics.

The process was more than simply applying makeup. It was about watching a persona emerge layer by layer: the shift in expression, the change in energy, and the moment when the face in the mirror begins to belong to someone else — or perhaps reveals another part of the same person.

For Lawunda, drag has always been about exploration. She discovered that putting on lipstick and lashes could unlock something she had been searching for, eventually giving her the freedom to explore both feminine and masculine aspects of herself. Today, she describes drag as an extension of who she is rather than a separate identity — a space where she can play with gender, character and performance.

Scroll through the images below to follow the transformation from Dominique to Lawunda — and to see beauty not as a way of concealing identity, but as a tool for expressing it.

In conversation with Lawunda

“You have lived in Berlin for around five years. What makes the city special for you as a drag artist?”

Berlin feels like a mecca for different kinds of drag. There are so many ways to express yourself within the queer drag community, and there is an audience for all of it — whether you’re a drag queen, drag king, drag monster or something completely different. Here, you don’t have to fit into one polished, cookie-cutter version of what a drag artist should be.

“How did drag first enter your life?”

I grew up dancing and was always looking for a queer edge that I didn’t find in ballet. Then I discovered The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I put on the lipstick and lashes, and it just made sense. From there, I found the courage to really explore drag — and music became a huge part of it. Whitney Houston was definitely one of my first queens.

“Do Dominique and Lawunda feel like two different people?”

They’re both chaotic! They really feed off each other’s energy. Drag has brought me much closer to my non-binary identity because it has allowed me to explore parts of myself that I was once afraid to express — both feminine and masculine. As Lawunda, I can really dive into character and explore what gender even means to me.

“What does drag give you that life as Dominique doesn’t?”

It’s transformative. When you put it on and perform, something changes on the inside. You become a different person, or maybe an extension of yourself. You smile a little brighter, colours feel more vivid. And sometimes drag has genuinely helped me heal. I’ve performed things that came from difficult experiences, and then someone from the audience would tell me, “I felt that.” Suddenly, I didn’t feel so alone.

“You also have your own drag family. What does that mean to you?”

My drag mothers are my mentors — the people who show up for you. My first drag mother introduced me to drag and to Rocky Horror, and I have another drag mother here in Berlin, Judy La Divina, who taught me how to host and helped me develop as an artist. And now I’m a drag mommy too. I have several children, and they’re also some of my best friends. I love helping them get started, giving them costumes, gigs and whatever they need.

“What does representation mean to you?”

Representation shouldn’t be a quota. There can be more than one Black artist in a room. Berlin has so many incredible Black drag artists, and I want to see that diversity reflected rather than having one person stand in for an entire community. Real representation means that if you’re good, you get the job — and that audiences get to see the full diversity that actually exists.

“And how do you recharge when you’re exhausted?”

I go on holiday, far away from Berlin. No wig. No makeup. I think it’s important to take space and remember why you do what you do. Drag is an extension of who I am, so if I don’t spend time being myself, that part can get a little lost.

More than a transformation

Watching Lawunda transform is a reminder that makeup can be much more than enhancement. It can be theatre, storytelling, armour, play — or simply a way of giving another part of yourself permission to take up space.

That is what makes Lawunda’s relationship with beauty so compelling. There isn’t really a before and after. There is Dominique, there is Lawunda, and there is everything in between — constantly moving, evolving and becoming.

Follow this link to watch her beautiful transformation,

filmed by our dearest Diana

Be Yourself & Stay Amazingy!