Joe Bonamassa

Friday, January 28, 2011

Here comes the 'femiman' bride: Jean Paul Gaultier's male muse is the star of the Couture (and menswear) show

By Maysa Rawi

Boys will be girls: Male model Andrej Pejic was Jean Paul Gaultier's bride at yesterday's Couture show in Paris

With a supermodel figure, full lips and high cheekbones, no one could argue that Jean Paul Gaultier's choice for the Couture show finale made a beautiful bride.

But it may come as a surprise to the audience that the French designer's new muse - a male model - also featured in his menswear show a week earlier.

Serbian-born Andrej Pejic is part of the new wave of 'femiman' models.

James Blond: The model also starred in Gaultier's menswear show last week, inspired by James Bond

Displaying physical traits of both sexes, the androgynous mannequins make for versatile looks on the runway - and headline news off it.

The 19-year-old, who fled war-torn Serbia to live in Australia, is also the face of Marc Jacobs and has appeared in numerous campaigns including French and Italian Vogue.

He was discovered by the Matthew Anderson, the director of Chadwick Models in Melbourne.

Anderson told the Sydney Morning Herald: 'His beauty was extraordinary.

'He's also intelligent and it's amazing, really, that he's just so comfortable in his own skin.'

And Andrej, who also stars in Gaultier's campaign where he shares a kiss with supermodel Karolina Kurkova, certainly enjoys playing dress up.

He told WWD: 'I may as well push it to the limits.

'I wouldn't dress this way if I didn't have fun with it.'

It is clear androgyny chic is having a fashion moment.

Transsexual model Leah T shot to fame after being discovered by Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci.

She went on to pose for Vogue and most recently was pictured on the cover of Love magazine locking lips with Kate Moss.

So it comes as no surprise that Jean Paul Gaultier, no stranger to controversy, has joined the trend.

Of his Bond-themed menswear show, he said: 'James Bond is an icon of masculinity, so much so that he’s become a sort of sex object — just like the Bond girls he’s seducing.'

Pejic walked to the Bond theme tune 'Goldfinger' and clearly, sporting cascading waves and high heels, was more Bond girl than spy - or 'James Blond' - as he has been referred to by Gaultier himself.