by Grace Gulley
"Androgyny is on the rise—albeit an impossibly slow rise, more of a slugged crawl really. But Andrej Pejic is taking leaps and bounds for this modern movement, and he’s doing it in stilettos.
At first sight, the most beautiful woman you have ever seen. He’s been the case of mistaken identity, and misdirected come ons for some time now. Flirty photographers, amorous admirers, the list goes on…. I mean, how could you not consider him a beautiful being with the smoldering wide-set eyes, long platinum hair, and killer cheek bones. He’s got all the makings of the great supermodels. Well minus one little ‘s’ at the beginning of ‘she’. Regardless, Pejic is a star on the rise.
Andrej jumped into the scene in Australia and made a real splash when he walked in Jean Paul Gaultier’s spring 2011 show. There was instant clamor, people wanted to know who/what this magnificent being was. It wasn’t long before he was walking in Paul Smith, John Galliano and Raf Simons’ shows. Within months he had landed himself a chance to grace one of the most revered publications in the business, French Vogue. The offers are pouring in now. You can see him in both Marc Jacobs and Jean Paul Gaultier’s spring 2011 campaigns.
With the new and unusual, you can always count on backlash. And Andrej’s uber-androgynous look hasn’t been greeted with the kindest reception. I’m sure you can imagine the comments and ridicule that have been directed to our supermodel-on-the-rise, so I’ll abstain from repeating them. But I think Andrej Pejic is someone to look up to. He is living his life and realizing his dreams, despite the naysayers.
If we let other people dictate who we should be and how we should live our life, it’d be a sad world. Freedom to make decisions, lead our own lives and freely express ourself our part of what make our world so great. (Depending on the part of the world you live in I suppose, seeing as some countries place greater restrictions on your freedoms. But that is an entirely different article!) Also, personal expression, makes our world a lot more colorful.
Fashion may take a beating for superimposing this typical idea of beauty into our minds and setting an impossibly high standard for the ‘average’ person. And what I’d say to them is, take a good look at Andrej Pejic. He is tearing down the walls that society wants to use to box us in. Andrej is paving a path for future generations. And he is showing us that you can be whomever you choose to be.
Boys will be girls, girls will be boys, and you can be anybody or anything you want."