Fashion model Andreja Pejic, who had previously been designated as an androgynous male model, appeared on a catwalk at London Fashion Week on Monday for the first time since undergoing gender reassignment surgery.
Previously known as Andrej, the model went under the knife in 2014, after describing a lifelong struggle with gender dysphoria. Now, Pejic has unveiled the new changes.
The now female Pejic shared several photos of her London debut on Instagram to acclimate the industry, stating: “It feels amazing to be making my runway debut for one of my favorite British designers #Giles,” she said. “Thank you to @kegrand and @guineapiggiles #thereturn #LFW.”
A photo posted by Andreja Pejic (@andrejapejic) on Feb 23, 2015 at 1:23pm PST
Andreja also included a snap alongside Bruce Jenner’s daughter, fellow model Kylie:
Backstage ki-ki #LFW @kendalljenner #Giles
A photo posted by Andreja Pejic (@andrejapejic) on Feb 23, 2015 at 12:10pm PST
Speaking of life as transgender to Style last July, Pejic described the motivation behind the switch:
Gender dysphoria is never an easy thing to live with, mainly because people don’t understand it. For most of my childhood, I knew that I preferred all things feminine, but I didn’t know why. I didn’t know that there was an explanation. I didn’t know about the possibilities.
I tried to be a “normal” boy because I felt like my options were either to be a gay boy or a straight boy. I didn’t feel that I was gay, so I didn’t know that there were any other options until the age of 13, when I went online and discovered that there’s a whole community of trans people out there. There are doctors, there’s medical care, there’s research, and that was an eye-opener for me. From that day on, I knew what I had to do.
Prior to gender reassignment surgery, Andreja was well known in the fashion industry as both a male and a female model with an androgynous look that allowed the showcasing of both male and female designs, reports the Daily Mail.