Thursday, September 29, 2011

What will Andrej Pejic wear to meet the Queen?

love cat magazine via milk made

Earlier this month, Sydney-based PR agency Under The Wing Tweeted an invitation that its client Geoffrey Finch had received from The Master of the Household of Buckingham Palace (see below) for a special Australian-themed reception on Thursday October 13th - six days ahead of the kickoff of Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Australia. The London-based Australian expat is one of several hundred guests who are expected to descend on the Palace that evening and, as it emerges, one of at least three Australian fashion industry representatives. London-based retailer Yasmin Sewell has, we understand, also received a bait, as has gender-bending pop culture phenom Andrej Pejic. Although Buckingham Palace would not provide any further details about either the guest list or RSVPs when we checked overnight, Pejic's Australian agency Chadwick confirms that he will definitely be attending. The big question, of course, is just what will Pejic wear for such an occasion? UPDATE 14/10: A demure little black dress and waist-length hair extensions is the answer.



under the wing PR's twitter
Over the past year we have grown accustomed to expecting the unexpected from Pejic. This is the man who closed Jean Paul Gaultier's haute couture show in Paris in January in a wedding dress, turned up at Rio airport with a fake baby bump, channeled Harry Potter's Bellatrix L'Estrange for Myer's relaunch and, more recently, Marilyn Monroe for Love Cat magazine, amongst myriad other fashion assignments for which he has keen kitted out by stylists and designers as alternatively, a man and a woman.

christos karantzolas for schon magazine via haus of andrej pejic

Vogue Australia editor Kirstie Clements thinks Pejic should wear "a three piece suit and a drop earring to meet the Queen. A bit Bowie" - apparently overlooking the fact that Bowie himself never needed to think about dressing to meet the Queen, as he refused both a CBE and a Knighthood. As for the world's most famous drag queen, the late Danny La Rue, he graciously accepted his OBE in 2002.... in a suit and top hat.

So is there any specific protocol that would preclude Pejic rocking up to the Palace in a frock if that's how he chose to roll on the day?

Not according to Buckingham Palace press officer Marnie Gaffney, an Australian who has worked with The Queen for the past three years  - and who did, to our delight, in fact drop the term "The Presence" during our phone conversation, when we asked just how much time she spends with HRH.

After stifling a giggle on the Pejic dress question, Gaffney told frockwriter, “The recommended dress code for receptions at Buckingham Palace is Day Dress/Lounge Suit. However, this is for guidance only and guests are welcome to wear whatever they feel comfortable in.”
 
  

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