How gender-bending model Andrej Pejić is pushing the boundaries

The January 2013 issue of Serbia’s Elle magazine has a pioneering cover star in gender-bending model Andrej Pejić. Andrej is now equivalent to Neil Armstrong taking his “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

The talented Mr Andrej previously modelled lingerie and wedding gowns. He says: “My gender is open to artistic interpretation. I don’t really have that sort of strong gender identity – I identify as what I am. The fact that people are using it for creative or marketing purposes; it’s just kind of like having a skill and using it to earn money.”

Inside the aforementioned January issue, Andrej exhibits his versatility thanks to some clever camerawork as he poses in saucy lingerie and wrestles with a duke-like male model. It is a very impressive photo shoot, a symbolic representation of his real life gender struggle. He is a chameleon in every way.

This up-and-coming androgynous model is high in demand. Andrej has become Jean-Paul Gaultier’s muse, while Kate Moss has described him as “beautiful”.

He has modelled wedding dresses for Rosa Clara, looking like a blushing bride-to-be, as well as a push-up bra for Dutch department store Hema. Andrej’s lack of cleavage did nothing to ruin his appeal.

His life might sound rosy now, but Andrej fled to Australia as a political refugee at the age of 8, following the 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia. He has worked hard to get where he is.

In order to portray a woman, Andrej needs to maintain a woman’s figure. He told Grazia: “To do womenswear I have to be disciplined. My waist has gone from 29 to 25 inches, my hips are 35 inches.” Even women have a tough time getting to those measurements.

Andrej has broken all the boundaries by becoming the first cross-dressing male model to grace an Elle cover. Being different is what makes you successful in fashion, and Andrej is unquestionably different.

Pooja Sahny