Andrej Pejic Features in 'The Times' Magazine July 2011

Androgynous model Andrej Pejic features inside the July issue of 'The Times' magazine. Photographed and interviewed by the publication, Andrej steps up to the spotlight to explain how he feels about being one of the first models to break gender rules and model both menswear and womenswear equally. In the interview, Andrej responds to the interviewer who brings up that one headline about him read that he was “Fashion’s ultimate insult to women”. Andrej commented:

“That is c**p. When I’m in a room full of girls in Paris I feel fat. I have bigger hips than them. My body is not seen as ideal for every garment. If I were a girl I’d be considered to have a bone structure that works better with dresses and flowy things – sometimes more sexy things. But when it comes to structural clothing, my body’s not so good, because for that you want a slight frame.”

Speaking on his undefinable identity, Andrej says it's “something I love to play with, and I like to leave it open to artistic interpretation. It’s interesting to see how people react; whether they embrace it or are threatened by it.”

He also says in the interview that when he was about 11 he “really started seeing the differences in the genders, the barriers, and that I couldn’t really afford to do things as I did as a kid” When asked why he couldn't, he responded: “Socially, it was inappropriate. So I tried to make other people happy, to be more acceptable, and more boyish.”

He stated that his attitude changed when he realized he wanted to stop making others happy and focus on his own happiness: “I had been depressed for a while and came to a point where I was like, ‘F*** it, do I want to make other people happy or do I want to make myself happy?’  ”

Andrej says he doesn't want to be another fashion trend that is soon forgotten about: “Fashion is fickle. As soon as you get cheesy, too mainstream, they throw you out. So it’s a balancing act.” Accompanying the interview, Andrej is photographed by John Paul Pietrus in a shoot named 'About a Boy'.