Gender-bending model a runway sensation

Topics: Fashion & Beauty

Andrej Pejic walks the runway at the Michalsky Autumn/Winter 2012 fashion show in Berlin on Jan. 20, 1220.

(Credit: Getty Images)

(CBS/AP) NEW YORK - With Fashion Week getting under way in New York, model Andrej Pejic is the man - or women - of the hour.

That's because The Bosnian-born 20-year-old is the only top-tier fashion model who can walk down the runway as either a man or a woman.

Pictures: Andrej Pejic
Special section: NY Fashion Week

His androgynous beauty has turned him into a trendsetter in an industry that's always seeking to push the envelope.

Pejic graced the covers of 14 magazines last year alone, including an ad campaign for a Dutch push-up bra. In 2011, he was the face for a fashion line by designer Marc Jacobs. He has walked the runways for heavyweight designers, including John Galliano and Jean Paul Gaultier.

French designer Gaultier was so enamored with Pejic that he used his gender-bending look as a source of inspiration for his 2011 men's and women's wear shows, both of which Pejic modeled in. In the Gaultier men's show, a pistol-packing, bare-chested Pejic wore a sleek black suit as "James Blonde."

Born with high cheekbones, plump lips and a flawless complexion, Pejic was discovered by a talent scout while working at a McDonald's as a teenager. He had spent much of his childhood in a refugee camp and fled with his family to Australia.

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by rsmik February 13, 2012 11:57 AM EST: Ok, a transvestite model. Next.; Reply to this comment


by AJAJ24 February 12, 2012 4:22 PM EST: (CBS/AP) NEW YORK - With Fashion Week getting under way in New York, model Andrej Pejic is the man - or women - of the hour.

Hey CBS, it's womAn, not womEn. Wow, and I thought you guys were the big time in terms of journalistic talent.....not like the moronic writers over at people dot com.; Reply to this comment

by forrestt56 February 11, 2012 11:03 PM EST

Doesn't matter what you think. The dudes making a good living as a model; could probably retire at age 30.

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by raineygate February 12, 2012 7:30 AM EST: Absolutely right forrestt56...good for you!


by Thedevinemsd February 11, 2012 8:57 PM EST: Sodom and Gomorrah ring a bell, take heed people!; Reply to this comment

by deoppressoliber1964 February 10, 2012 7:27 AM EST

Hey, whatever keeps the utilities on.

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by raineygate February 12, 2012 7:30 AM EST: Well, yeah, really.:-)


by Htos1 February 10, 2012 4:53 AM EST: Ewwwwwwwwwwww!But please,feel free to be an obliviot.; Reply to this comment


by dharry77 February 10, 2012 4:07 AM EST: dudes ugly either way.; Reply to this comment

by pammmmmm February 9, 2012 11:44 PM EST

so sad...I feel bad for him.

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by raineygate February 12, 2012 7:32 AM EST: But why Pammm?He is attactive, and even if you don't agree, he's *considered* attractive and with his bone structure, works well as a model...Plus he makes good money.


by bringbackmfg February 9, 2012 7:35 PM EST: This sick society will make him more popular because of it! He needs mental help. Looks like a horse in makeup to me.; Reply to this comment