Rafael Hinz studied visual communication at the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences. Subsequently, he worked for advertising agencies as a copywriter and supported the development of numerous brands for many years. His fascination with questions of looks and identity led him to assist as a costume designer and stylist. He now works as a freelancer and designs costumes for theater, music video and commercial productions, at the Browser Ballet, the Maxim-Gorki-Theater and Ballhaus Naunynstraße, amongst other spaces. Rafael Hinz’s creations deal with questions of POC and queer identity, especially with the formation of identity through the body and clothing. This is particularly evident, in the productions at Ballhaus Naunynstraße, in re-searching joy (2022), an Akademie der Autodidakten production directed by Bishop Black, in Junctions (2022), a dance production by Nasheeka Nedsreal and in the play Abdruckkörper (2022) by Yatri N. Niehaus.
In 2025, he is responsible for costume design for the second showing of the theater workshop Extended Cooperation, financed by the prize money from the 2023Theaterpreis des Bundes. Since fall 2025, this work has been part of the repertoire under the title Your Baggage Unattended.