Leonardo Loreto and Patrick Church Create Their Own Paradise
Paraíso was not born from an attempt to translate Brazil. It was born from the desire to feel it. Between painting, fashion, and the freedom of a body under the sun, Leonardo Loreto and Patrick Church transform the meeting of their respective creative languages into a collection that sees Rio de Janeiro as more than a setting: it has a pulse of its own.
The two arrive at this collaboration after years of developing their own languages within fashion. Leonardo Loreto has built a body of work marked by an intimate relationship between image, identity, and Brazilian culture, while Patrick Church has established, from London, a signature that brings fashion and art together through creations with a strong visual presence. Before sharing a collection, both had already built recognizable universes of their own. Paraíso is born precisely when these trajectories stop running parallel and begin to meet.
Patrick arrived in Brazil carrying an imaginary built from a distance. Leonardo, on the other hand, brought to the collaboration something that cannot be learned through research references: the intimacy of someone who grew up within this landscape, its codes, and its contradictions. When these two perspectives came together, the result could not be a literal representation of Brazil. It would be something else. A shared fantasy about summer, desire, and freedom.
The collection was created through conversations, images, tests, and a constant exchange of references. The process preserved precisely what tends to disappear when two creative languages attempt to merge: their differences. On one side, Leonardo’s Brazilian sensibility. On the other, Patrick’s visual repertoire, shaped by painting and by a particular way of turning the body into a canvas.
Rio enters this story almost as a third creator. The city lends its light, its sensuality, and that very particular relationship between the body and public space. Beach, skin, movement, and color cease to be decorative elements and instead become part of the atmosphere of Paraíso.
Across the capsule’s six looks, beachwear takes on different interpretations. Bikinis and swim briefs share space with tank tops, tie-up T-shirts, and denim pieces, while Brazilian prints and details move through Patrick’s aesthetic. Small symbols take on new functions, and what could be immediately recognizable passes through the filter of two creators before becoming clothing.
There is something particularly interesting about this process: Paraíso does not try to decide where one reference ends and another begins. The collection chooses the mix. Brazil does not appear as a frozen image, ready to be exported, but as a living, diverse territory that cannot be reduced to a single visual code.
For Leonardo, this dimension also touches his own history. Returning to Brazil to create from the references that shaped him means looking again at what formed him, now from another perspective. Alongside Patrick, familiar elements take on a sense of estrangement, and the familiar begins to be observed from both the outside and the inside at once.
This tension is especially present in the relationship with the body. Beachwear offers few layers between clothing and skin and, perhaps for that very reason, allows identity and presence to emerge with such clarity. In Paraíso, getting dressed does not seem to mean hiding or revealing, but choosing how to occupy one’s own space.
At its core, this is what brings Leonardo and Patrick’s work together: the belief that fashion can also be a form of visual language. A garment can carry a memory, a city can become texture, a journey can alter a palette, and an encounter can produce something that neither creator would have made alone.
Paraíso exists somewhere between the lived and the imagined. It carries the light of Rio, the gaze of London, and the freedom of not belonging entirely to either. It is a collection about what happens when different cultures meet without the need to explain themselves. Simply creating.
FEATURE INTERVIEW:
How did the partnership between you begin, and what sparked the desire to create a collection together?
Leonardo: We already knew each other’s work and there was a mutual admiration. When I spoke with Patrick about the possibility of creating something together, he was immediately interested. From there, the idea grew very naturally, from this meeting between two artistic universes that, despite being different, had a lot to share.
Patrick: It really began through a shared appreciation for each other’s work. Leonardo has worn my work, so when we met, there was already a connection. I remember telling him how much I wanted to visit Brazil and how inspired I was by the country, its culture, and its creative energy.
What was the creative process behind this collaboration, and how did your individual perspectives complement each other?
Leonardo: I’m Brazilian, so my references and worldview come from a very Brazilian place, something I carry with a lot of pride. Creating this collection alongside Patrick, an artist I admire, was very special because we were able to bring our references and experiences into dialogue. I think the collection exists in this space of exchange, where our references don’t compete; they expand each other.
Patrick: We were so excited to travel to Brazil to shoot the collection, so a lot of the creative process was inspired by that. We spent time moodboarding, sampling, and discussing how we wanted the collection to reflect the colors, energy, and overall vibe of Brazil. It was really about bringing our two perspectives together while keeping the process fun and organic.
Why was Brazil chosen as the starting point and inspiration for this collection?
Leonardo: Brazil is my country, and I have an enormous amount of pride in our culture, our identity, and our artistic power, which is unique. I wanted to find a way to honor all of that through fashion and, at the same time, introduce this universe to people outside Brazil. The country has always been a very important source of inspiration for my work.
Patrick: I’ve always been fascinated by Brazil—its beauty, energy, and culture. I’ve always felt inspired by the imagery I had seen of the country, so when I met Leonardo, I expressed how much I wanted to visit. It just felt natural that Brazil would become the starting point for the collection. We wanted to celebrate the country and capture some of its beauty, color, and energy through the collection.
How many pieces are included in the collection, and what were the main references that guided the creative process?
Leonardo: The collection consists of six beachwear looks. The references come mainly from Brazil, summer, the beach, and freedom. There is also a strong presence of Brazilian symbols, reinterpreted through the perspective of two artists with different experiences and creative languages.
Patrick: It’s a small capsule collection, which we wanted to keep intimate and special. It consists of denim, T-shirts with drawstring detailing, swimwear featuring bikinis and a couple of swim briefs, as well as tank tops. Leonardo also really helped me understand the symbolic and important parts of his country, and I wanted the prints to reflect that.
Patrick, what was it like experiencing Brazil for the first time and immersing yourself in the energy, colors, and culture of a country so deeply connected to beachwear?
It was more than a dream come true. On the day of the shoot, I honestly didn’t even feel like I was in my own body—it was such a magical experience. It’s almost impossible to find the words for it. I felt this incredible rush of inspiration, and there was just so much magic in the air. Being there and experiencing Brazil in person was something I’ll never forget.
Leonardo, what does it mean to return to your country and honor your roots through fashion, now presenting this universe to an international audience?
It’s very special for me to be able to return to my country and create from a place that is so intimate to my own history. As an LGBTQ+ person who comes from the favelas, my Brazilian experience is shaped by references, affections, and experiences that are part of who I am. At the same time, I think it’s important to recognize that Brazil is a country of continental dimensions, shaped by very diverse social, economic, and cultural realities. There are many ways of living, creating, and relating to this country.
What interests me is precisely this plurality. Brazil’s power lies in the diversity of stories, territories, references, and languages that coexist here, and in our ability to transform these experiences into new forms of expression. Brazil has an extremely powerful cultural and creative production that deserves to be seen in all its complexity. Being able to bring part of this repertoire to an international audience through fashion is a beautiful way to celebrate my roots and share a little of the Brazilian perspective that also makes up who I am.
How did you translate the meeting point between Brazilian aesthetics and a London perspective into the pieces?
Leonardo: I think this meeting happened in a very organic way. There is something very Brazilian at the essence of the collection, but there is also Patrick’s perspective, which brings his own artistic repertoire and his experience of London. Instead of trying to make these references the same, we allowed them to coexist. It’s precisely this contrast that makes the collection interesting.
Patrick: We wanted the prints to really reflect Brazil while keeping some of the brand’s signature cuts and shapes. Leonardo also added Brazilian flag label detailing, which gives the pieces a little something extra. We spent a lot of time discussing the visuals together because we’re both visual storytellers, it felt very natural to work together.
Beachwear has a powerful connection to the body, freedom, and identity. What do you hope to communicate through this collection?
Leonardo: For me, the body has always been a form of expression. Beachwear has this ability to put the body at the center, but in a very free way, without so many rules. I want this collection to speak about freedom and about feeling comfortable being exactly who you are.
Patrick: For me, it’s really about celebrating the spirit and confidence of the people I met in Brazil, and especially Leonardo’s spirit and kindness. I hope people can feel that energy when they wear the collection and connect with the special moment we created together.
Art plays an important role in both of your lives. How does it shape your personal lives and influence the way you see the world and approach your creative work?
Leonardo: Art is what makes me feel alive as a person and as an individual. It saved my life and, to this day, it is what best encompasses my worldview and the way I see life. Everything I live, feel, and experience ends up becoming part of my work. My personal experiences transform into references, images, forms, and feelings that appear in my work as a stylist and creative director. I think creating, for me, is a way of transforming life itself into a language.
Patrick: Art is my life. My life is art—I can’t separate the two. It’s how I see the world, how I process everything around me, and ultimately how I express myself. It helps me breathe and exist. It influences everything I create and allows me to constantly find beauty, inspiration, and new ways of seeing things.
If this collection could translate a feeling rather than an image, what would you want it to evoke?
Leonardo: I think it would be the feeling of celebrating Brazil, the most incredible country in the world, and, at the same time, celebrating the possibility of creating bridges and connections through art and fashion. I want the collection to evoke freedom, joy, love, and, above all, the feeling of connection between people, cultures, and different universes.
Patrick: For me, it would be love and acceptance. I think those are the feelings at the heart of this collection—celebrating connection, individuality, and the beauty of coming together.
TEAM CREDITS:
Models: Kathy Alex, Lucas Thomaz Mendes, J. Junior, Marlon Lopes, Allana Lobão & Carlos ParetSpecial Thanks: Raro Hotel (@raroipanemahotel) & Galore Magazine (@galore)
