Raquel Prates is a storyteller at her core, bringing her artistic vision to every role she inhabits. As a model, designer, and curator, she transcends the surface, using creation to explore people, culture, and connection.

This editorial captures her true essence: reflective, charismatic, and quietly powerful. Raquel doesn’t follow the flow — she carves her own path, merging deep curiosity with the fearless pursuit of authenticity.

 

 

 

 

I love her laugh… unmistakable. I met Rachel maybe 25 years ago and for me she represented Portuguese beauty, almost reminiscent of Amalia Rodrigues and the affection I had for her. I always thought Raquel was a discreet person but with a lot of sex appeal. Besides everything, I appreciate her good taste because when talking to her we can travel back in time and our perspective is very similar.

Antonia Rosa

 

 

 

 

ZOOT: How would you introduce yourself to someone who’s never met you?

Raquel Prates: I’m Raquel. I’d probably describe myself as an incurable curious mind. I move between art, curation, fashion, and design. Broadly speaking, I opened my first art gallery at 21, worked in television, produced exhibitions, designed jewellery, shoes, and hats. Today, I’m still at the age of ‘why’, but I like to think of myself as a translator — of ideas, emotions, and memories. I have a strong connection to my roots.

 

 

 

 

“I’m a Lisbon native, heart and soul — but I have this habit of living with one foot outside the door (laughs). Lisbon is my refuge, but also my starting point for everything else.”

Raquel Pratas

 

 

 

 

ZOOT: How did you start your career, and what moments have shaped you the most?

Raquel Prates: I can’t really remember when art came into my life — it feels like it was always there. I opened my own gallery when I was still just a girl, before I turned 22. At 17, came television, writing, curation, design — everything happened fast. What shaped me the most? Every reinvention. The courage to close one door to open another, even when it seems crazy. And the people I met along the way — even the ones who ‘don’t stay forever’.

 

 

 

 

ZOOT: What values are most important to you — in your work and in your life?

Raquel Prates: Authenticity above all. Beauty, but with truth. Ethics, even when no one’s watching. And a certain dose of rebellion — because without it, everything gets too predictable.

 

 

 

 

ZOOT: What are five beauty or fashion items you always carry with you?

Raquel Prates: A black eyeliner pencil — even if I don’t use it, it reminds me I’m in control. A good pair of glasses (almost always oversized). A perfume that says what I don’t. A ring or necklace with a story.

 

 

 

 

ZOOT: Can you walk us through your daily beauty routine?

Raquel Prates: Simple, sensorial, and made to last. I love multi-tasking products. For me, beauty is care and time — never a rush to look like someone else. Makeup is another passion of mine in this universe of beauty.

 

 

 

 

ZOOT: Do you think fashion has changed for the better over the past 20 years? What do you love about it now, and is there anything you think could have gone in a different direction?

Raquel Prates: It has changed, of course — the good part is that it’s become more democratic, it’s opened space for new voices that desperately needed to be heard. I love seeing creativity spread without asking for permission. But I do miss more mystery — now everything is instant, exposed, and very disposable. Sometimes it lacks originality at its core — which makes sense, in a way, as fashion will always mirror society.

 

 

 

 

ZOOT: How do you personally approach sustainability that in your everyday life?

Raquel Prates: I’ve always chosen less but better. I’m obsessed with pieces that last, that carry a story, that can be passed down. I love to support small, artisanal brands that treat each object like a piece of art.

 

 

 

 

ZOOT: With such a busy lifestyle, how do you take care of your physical, mental, and emotional well-being?

Raquel Prates: I’ve learned to say no. To sleep better. To walk aimlessly. And to protect my silences — they keep me whole inside; they’re part of who I am.

 

 

 

 

ZOOT:What’s one issue in the world right now — political, social, or environmental — that really concerns you? And why?

Raquel Prates: Indifference. I see it growing everywhere — politics, the environment, relationships. The world is so loud with information — most of it poorly transmitted — that we forget to listen and to act. And without empathy, nothing changes.

 

 

 

 

ZOOT: What’s been inspiring you lately — whether in music, literature, art, or film?

Raquel Prates: Art — especially imperfect things, unfinished things that feel like an exercise. I’ve been listening to a lot of music; it’s liberating. But what inspires me most are real conversations — the stories told around a table, away from the spotlight. That’s where life happens. The real life.

 

 

 

 

ZOOT: Art plays a big role in your life — as a curator, designer, and creative director. How does your connection to art influence the choices you make, both in your work and your daily life?

Raquel Prates: Art is my filter for everything. It’s how I decide what’s worth keeping and what I can let go of. Whether I’m choosing a piece for an exhibition, designing a piece of jewellery, or placing flowers in a vase at home — there has to be emotion, intention, and room for interpretation. Art teaches me not to rush.

 

 

 

 

ZOOT: Your creativity moves across many forms. In 2023, you launched a jewellery collection with Terzihan, inspired by Love Locked Out by Anna Lea Merritt — a painting full of emotion and symbolism: loss, memory, and resilience. What drew you to that artwork, and how did it shape the pieces you created?

Raquel Prates: I was captivated by the vulnerability of that image — a figure standing at the door of something they can’t enter anymore. Love Locked Out is an oil painting by Anna Lea Merritt, first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1890, and became the first painting by a female artist acquired for the UK’s national collection. It was well received at the time, although it showed a male nude — a controversial subject for women artists then. Merritt avoided censorship by choosing a child to portray Cupid instead of an adult. Her husband and eternal love, for whom she created this work, died just three months after they married.
It’s a powerful metaphor for everything we lose and, at the same time, the strength to keep going. I wanted to bring that symbolism into the jewellery — pieces that carry memory, pain, and resilience but are also talismans for moving forward, with a strong feminine energy.

 

 

 

 

ZOOT: What draws you to the process of creating and designing jewellery? What do you enjoy most about transforming an idea into a wearable piece of art?

Raquel Prates: I love the conceptual side — seeing the invisible made visible. Jewellery isn’t just an object; it’s a secret message we carry with us. I’m fascinated by shaping something so intimate that it becomes part of someone else’s body. It’s almost alchemy.”

 

 

 

 

ZOOT: Eyewear has become part of your signature look — you’re rarely seen without a bold pair of glasses. What do you look for in a frame, and how do glasses help express your personal style?

Raquel Prates: (laughs) I’d never really thought about that. Glasses are probably my shield. I like frames with personality — ones that shape my face but also show humour, mystery, or strength. For me, they’re an extension of what I think — and a way of saying: ‘I’m here, but I see the world in my own way’.”

 

 

 

 

ZOOT: You often highlight handcrafted jewellery in your work. What makes a piece truly special or meaningful to you?

Raquel Prates: Imperfection. The detail that can’t be repeated. The time you can feel in the hands that made it. A special piece has to tell a story that no one else could tell in quite the same way.

 

 

 

 

Thank you Raquel!

 

 

 

FASHION REFERENCES


ATELIER CHILAZE @atelierchilaze




STIVALI @stivali_boutiques  for

JEAN PAUL GAULTIER  @jeanpaulgaultier
ALAÏA PARIS @maisonalaia

VEHR @vehr

 

BEAUTY REFERENCES

Skin:
FILORGA HYDRA-AOX [5] intensive antioxidant face serum @filorga_portugal

Eyes:
BENEFIT BADgal BANG! – Máscara de Volume @sephoraportugal
RABANNE Colourshot cream-to-paint liquid eyeshadow @sephoraportugal

Lips: 
CLARINSHydra-Essentiel [HA] Baume Lèvres Réparateur @clarinsportugal
BENEFIT Benetint – Blush Líquido para Bochechas e Lábios @sephoraportugal

 

 

 

 

 

To boot…

Raquel Prates  @raquelpratesblog