FASHION Magazine

As if editing her online magazine Rookie, attending runway shows, and being a full-time high school sophomore wasn’t enough, Tavi Gevinson has just added film actress (and singer!) to her repertoire.

Gevinson narrates and co-stars in Jonah D. Ansell’s latest animated short, Cadaver, about two medical students who open up a cadaver only to realize he’s come back to life to mend his broken heart. Of course it’s just as eccentric as the blogger’s style—it has the rhyming scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet and Oscar winner Kathy Bates playing the thread (yes, the thread) that sews up the cadaver.

Girl wonder, Tavi Gevinson, is making waves after calling out the fashion industry for being hypocritical. In a recent interview with the BBC, she discussed her emergence on the scene, the reaction to it, as well as her current position as editor-in-chief of the online magazine Rookie.

Amongst shared tidbits about glitter, Sassy magazine, and the Internet’s world-wide educational reach, she talked about her appearance at New York fashion week at the age of 13. “People were confused about my being there for a few reasons. One was that I was a blogger. The word itself, blog—it’s kind of an ugly word. […] And so I think people were confused and angry that someone younger than them had kind of figured it out.” She continues: “They would talk about how inappropriate it was for someone my age to be at fashion week, but this is coming from an industry that fetishizes youth.”

While watching the two minute–long video, you’d probably think, “Wow, she’s all grown up,” but isn’t that the thing with Tavi? She’s always been grown up, or at least wise beyond her years. She’s just swapped the blog for the BBC, and the oversized glasses for a thick cat eye. While she may eventually cringe to have had her teenage transformation on display, we’re sure happy to have her as a beacon of intelligent youth to lead us into the future.

With 2011 wrapping up, many end-of-year lists have been popping up. Today, Forbes released their twelve 30 Under 30 lists of people who are making a mark in their respective fields. Fashion folk have a large presence in the art and design category.

The industry’s latest bright young things that made the cut include Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen who have become respected fashion designers for their high-end line, The Row, which sold out of their $35,000 bags and designed T-shirts for shopping site stylemint.com. It’s no surprise that Pamela Love and Alexander Wang are included in the list, considering both of their brands’ successes this past year. Rounding out the fashionable list is recent CDFA/Vogue Fashion Fund winner and industry darling Joseph Altuzarra. Tavi Gevinson, 15-year-old former fashion blogger turned editor-in-chief of teen cool-girl magazine Rookie repped fashion in the media category.

For those of you who’ve been reading us for a while, you’ll know that we’re obsessed with Advanced Style—the photo blog profiling stylish ladies aged 50 and over—as well its ever-dapper creator Ari Seth Cohen. When we heard that Cohen was teaming up with pint sized (well, not so pint sized anymore) über-blogger Tavi Gevinson for a one-night-only celebration of age and including something called “Eyelash Caberet” (!!!) during New York fashion week, we jumped at the chance to shoot the all the ladies in action. Well, the event certainly didn’t disappoint, as the Ace Hotel swelled with feathers, baubles, and of course old ladies shmoozing, performing, and generally lapping it up. Noted granny stylista Iris Apfel made an appearance in her signature black-rimmed glasses, and so did famed director Albert Maysles (as one part of the genius behind Grey Gardens, he knows a thing or two about eccentricity). The whole concept was plucked out of our fantasies, and is now brought to onscreen reality for you all by none other than our boy Lewis Mirrett.

View the photo gallery »

Word: Rookie

Meaning: In sports, it’s a player in his or her first year. In other fields, it’s any kind of novice, often a jejune one.

Usage: “My rookie year, I was very immature.” — Dennis Rodman, basketball player, fashion icon, and master of the understatement.

Other than fashion, what do 15-year-old blogger Tavi Gevinson and Tyra Banks have in common? They’re both set to release books in the near future. While book launches are nothing new to the fashion world, the typical material is usually limited to collections of glossy photos or instructive style guides. You may (or may not) be shocked to find out that this isn’t the case with either Tavi’s or Tyra’s upcoming ventures.

By Renee Reardin

Tavi Gevinson thinks it would be depressing for her to be obsessed with “only fashion” for three years. Is the pint sized blogging sensation already over fashion? [Style Rookie]

Michelle Obama defends her international taste in designers on the Today Show. Who are we kidding? We’d whip out a McQueen once in a while (or every day) too! [Nymag]

You know you’ve made it when… Katie Couric sits down with 14-year-old Tavi Gevinson to chat pre-fashion week [Glamour]

Jean Paul Gaultier was in Montreal last week to unveil plans for a career retrospective at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Called “The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk” the exhibit will include garments, sketches, photography and audiovisual elements from the designer’s 35-year career. [WWD]

Pint-sized super blogger Tavi Gevinson and and Sassy founder Jane Pratt are launching a print magazine together. [Fashionista]

Harry Potter actress Emma Watson and Alberta Ferretti have teamed up to design an organic line of clothing inspired by Jane Birkin. [The Cut]