2011-3-31 Broadmeadow's model Andrej Pejic proud of working-class background

MELBOURNE's other boy from Broady, Andrej Pejic, may be living the glamorous life on the catwalks of Europe, but he is proud of his working-class background.


The gender-bender cult star of haute couture is back home to appear at the opening of Myer's revamped Melbourne flagship store tonight.

"It is not like I was in this huge poverty and then suddenly it was a rags-to-riches kind of story," the 19-year-old said.

"It is a different world, but you go to New York, you go to London and you see places like Broadmeadows.

"It's a working-class suburb, but there's no shame in that and it is definitely home."

Pejic, who has made androgyny a fashion statement, can thank the prospect of part-time work at a fast-food outlet for kick-starting his headline-grabbing modelling career.
He joined Chadwick Models two years ago to earn pocket money."I thought modelling might be better than KFC," he said.

"I wasn't focused on making a career, it just sort of happened.

"I did want to give it a shot to see what happened, and the plan came up for me to go overseas, because the Australian market is limited, especially for me."

Pejic, whose dream job would be to appear in a Lady Gaga video clip, said he was thinking about life off the catwalk, having received movie and TV offers since his star turn as James Blonde on the catwalk for designer Jean-Paul Gaultier.
"I'm just enjoying the ride," Pejic said.


He will be accompanied by his mother, Jadranka, on Myer's red carpet tonight.
His family escaped Bosnia for Serbia, then settled in Broadmeadows when he was nine.

Pejic said he started to emphasise his dramatic icy, blue-eyed beauty as a 14-year-old, yet managed to avoid the curse of bullying in his years at West Meadows Primary and University High School.


"I know people find that really surprising," he said.


"I like to hang around different people and not marginalise myself. They (some people) do . . . ask questions which may be rude, but I never sensed a lot of hostility or violence.


"I think it (society) is not as closed-minded as some people think."

F:http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/fashion/broadmeadows-model-andrej-pejic-proud-of-working-class-background/story-e6frf8o6-1226031014423