Kimonoya in Brisbane: Fashionista Sachiko Hinze keeping tradition alive

Meet the accidental fashionista keeping Japanese traditions alive in Brisbane.

Sachiko Hinze never set out to be a kimono stylist, let alone one who works so far from her homeland Japan. But life has a way of interfering with our best-laid plans.

For the Sherwood mother-of-three, plans were interrupted in 2003 when she was studying business management on a student visa at the University of Queensland.

“I thought I would then find a good job as a career woman back in Japan,” Sachiko, 41, says. Instead, she met and fell in love with now-husband Carl Hinze, a lawyer, and their adventure began, first in Shanghai, China, where they worked, married and had three sons.

Carl and Sachiko Hinze.

When Charles, 11, and twins Montgomery and Gabriel, 10, started kindergarten in Shanghai, Sachiko found she had time on her hands.

“My dear friend suggested that we attend kimono lessons together and I thought it was a funny joke,” Sachiko says.

“I had no interest in kimonos at the time, but she suggested we go for lunches after the lessons, so I went along for that.”

But she soon found herself enamoured with the “complexity and beauty” of Japan’s traditional dress.

After moving back to Brisbane in 2014 she decided to start her own kimono-styling business, Kimonoya, initially dressing local families with Japanese heritage for traditional Japanese photo shoots including weddings and engagements, coming of age ceremonies and newborn celebrations.

Today, Sachiko does everything from kimono photo shoots, fittings, kimono hire, lessons and demonstrations at local schools.

Sachiko Hinze models a kimono traditionally worn by young, unmarried women in their 20s. Picture: Annette Dew

“It’s a way for me to maintain my Japanese identity, and a way to show my sons the beauty of Japanese culture,” she says.

Her favourite sessions are those that see her style family-owned kimonos that have been passed down through generations.

“Some customers have had a kimono from their mother or grandmother but haven’t worn it because they couldn’t find anyone to fit them correctly.

“When I help them, I feel that I have been a part of connecting generations through kimono,” she says.

Sachiko says there has been a resurgence in young people wearing kimono “in modern ways” across Japan and there is even a growing appreciation for the fashion in Brisbane.

Sachiko Hinze owns Kimonoya, a kimono styling business in Brisbane

“I’m part of a group called Kimono Culture Club who come up with special events to attend in kimono,” Sachiko says.

“Having opportunities to go out in our kimono encourages us to wear them more regularly.”

She expects a boost in business this year too, with the Olympics being hosted in Tokyo, Japan, from July.

“A lot of my customers come to me to hire a kimono for special occasions … and the same kimono can be worn in different styles according to how you put it on a person. For example, if you show the back of your neck, you are a mature woman … the back of the neck of children and men is never shown.

“The way the obi is tied around the waist also requires a special skill. An obi can be over 4m long and tied to make different shapes, such as a sparrow or a rose.

“Kimono represents Japanese art, fashion and the history of how Japanese people live.

“It is Japan’s pride as fashion.”