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Don Aretino imbues fashion creations with narrative identity
The Berlin-based fashion designer explores self-identity, religion and gender politics in his collections, which have caught the eye of celebrities like Jared Leto and Agnes Mo.
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Medan-born designer Don Aretino says that studying fashion design in Berlin has helped free his sense of self-expression, allowing him to own who he is.
(JP/Andre Wiredja)
B
orn and raised in the outskirts of Medan, North Sumatra, Don Aretino grew up in a multireligious household that included a Muslim father, a mualaf (Muslim convert) mother, a Catholic aunt and a Buddhist grandmother.
“We all lived under the same roof and I learned a lot about different religions,” recalls Don, who adds that he and his siblings attended an Islamic school.
“Since I was a child, I noticed something different inside me wanting to get out, but I didn’t really know what it was until puberty, when I started to become aware of my attraction to [my own] sex,” he says.
It was a difficult time for Don, who was plagued by self-hate. The religious environment around him wasn’t very tolerant, particularly of gay people.
“Every time I prayed, I cried and asked Allah to make me ‘normal’,” says Don.
“But with the arrival of the internet and chat rooms, I finally learned what it means to be queer or homosexual. That’s when I decided that I need to get out of my hometown and even the country in order to find myself and become who I really am.”
Wanting to escape the norms and paradigms that had dictated his life since childhood, Don’s plan to go abroad materialized when he was just 17.
