http://www.divaasia.com/media_photo/18817To say he has the best of both worlds is rather apt.
Andrej Pejic has made a name in the fashion world as one who can model both male and female clothing - thanks to his unique androgynous looks.
The Bosnian-Australian poster boy for fashion androgyny is in town for Digital Fashion Week, which started on Saturday.
He is walking for local designers Eugene Lin and Pauline.Ning.
The 21-year-old flaxen haired model never failed to be amused by the public's reactions, even though he has been in the limelight for four years.
For instance, he was amazed by the warm reception showered on him when he visited China in July, a country where cross-dressing is still taboo.
After he took to the runway at the Jean Paul Gaultier fashion show in Beijing, around 100 Chinese teens lined up just to meet him.
"It was insane, these kids came from all over China just to see me," Pejic told The New Paper recently.
"They brought me all these oriental presents like chopsticks for my hair, little mirrors, fans, flowers and they conversed with me in broken English."
To him, such a welcome in China was validation that people there were comfortable with him appearing as he really is.
He added: "As a model, you don't expect that kind of fan base (in China) but I've been lucky to be well received in conservative markets such as Turkey as well."
Undeniably, his path to fame wasn't as easy as strutting down the runway.
As a child, he had found it extremely difficult to behave like a boy as he preferred playing with Barbie dolls and dressing up in his mother's clothes.
Pejic, who moved to Melbourne when he was eight years old, said that modelling, singing or acting weren't career choices for him as a teen as his mother wanted him to go downthe academic route.
But once scouts recognised his high fashion appeal and started knocking on his door when he was 17, there was no turning back.
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