Though taller than the average supermodel, Andrej Pejic has the same measurements as Naomi Campbell (34-26-35) and the same porcelain skin and arresting features as Kate Moss. At 20, the six-foot-one, Serbian-born Pejic is a high-fashion model. Shes also a he. Pejic walked in the Arthur Mendona runway show Monday night at LG Fashion Week in Toronto.
BERNARD WEIL/TORONTO STAR
Though taller than the average supermodel, Andrej Pejic has the same measurements as Naomi Campbell (34-26-35) and the same porcelain skin and arresting features as Kate Moss.
At 20, the six-foot-one, Serbian-born Pejic is a high-fashion model.
Shes also a he.
Not a drag queen or a cross dresser just an extremely beautiful boy who can pass as a supermodel.
Pejic was in Toronto last night to open LG Fashion Week, specifically at the runway presentation of Arthur Mendona. LG Fashion Week runs until Friday in the tents at David Pecaut Square.
This is my first time in Canada, says Pejic, in his breathy Aussie accent. Pejic was born in Serbia but was raised in Melbourne. But he already claims to like some of our campier performers like k.d. Lang and Cline Dion.
In barely over a year his career is soaring. Hes represented by modelling agencies around the world, including Push Creative Management Inc. in Toronto. He was recommended for the Mendona show by Toronto stylist George Antonopoulos, says Push agent Alan Thomas Smith. Pejic will also star in a magazine fashion shoot while in Toronto.
Pejic, who has modelled for designers such as John Galliano, Jean Paul Gaultier and Marc Jacobs, knows why hes so popular. I always generate a lot of attention, he explains. I think I bring a cool factor to a brand. Designers who connect their image with his are perceived as modern, risk takers, he adds.
Hes very aware of himself as a business, says Smith.
Along with other Australian celebrities, last week Pejic was honoured to meet Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace dressed as a woman.
As a kid I loved wearing my mothers clothes. Still Pejic does not refer to himself as a cross dresser. Hes simply androgynous.
But hes nothing at all like the famous glamazon RuPaul.
Pejic is lithe. Hes edgy as a boy and a girl. And he works hard to keep it that way counting calories and exercising regularly. I work at it, he says. You cant maintain a 26-inch waist eating chocolate cake every day.
Smith is convinced Pejic is a perfect match for Mendonas sophisticated urban brand. Arthur is so talented and hes not afraid to make a statement.
Still not everyone is as taken with the boy model who has been touted as one of the most relevant models in the world for his contribution to the understanding of gender roles.
In fact hes been criticized for being too feminine. And hes added fuel to the argument that too many young girls are chain smoking and developing harmful eating habits in pursuit of a boys physique.
Pejic doesnt listen to the haters. He loves his fans, he says. And hes keeping the dream alive of a photo shoot for Playboy magazine. It depends on how its shot. It could be great.