Born in Brazil to a Brazilian mother, Raphael moved frequently across the country before coming to Lebanon at ten. Family instability meant that he continued changing homes and schools, living between the Bekaa, Beirut, and Jbeil. With so much in flux, he felt he held on to few memories and began creating worlds of his own wherever he went.

At school, Raphael often felt like the strange kid and spent considerable time alone. He became deeply absorbed in his imagined lives, sometimes pretending to be a mermaid or another character. That willingness to inhabit an alternative reality still shapes his interest in surreal design. He also spends time alone by the sea and is drawn to exploring grief, loss, and the darker parts of his experience.

His education included a scholarship-supported freshman year, a semester in hospitality management, and later studies in digital media. When his mother gave birth to twins, he paused his studies to help care for them. Along the way, he saved for a sewing machine, and making Halloween outfits for himself and a friend helped turn his interest in fashion into something he wanted to pursue seriously.

As sewing began to occupy more of his time, Raphael left his studies to prepare a portfolio for CSB, experimenting with pieces such as resin corsets. His ideas arrive as vivid images, which he writes down, sketches, and tests. He enjoys solving the problems that emerge while making and wants to develop the technical confidence to take those images further.