Harper's Bazaar January issue - Photo Credit: Peter Lindbergh
Tavi Gevinson - Photo via Style Rookie
Once again, Harper’s Bazaar proves its flair for capturing cultural phenomena, with their forward-looking, cutting-edge approach. As reported by WWD, the January issue of Bazaar includes a column by Tavi Gevinson, the charming 13-year old fashion blogger behind Style Rookie.
The magazine’s decision to provide a platform for the precocious fashionista demonstrates not only the editor’s inspiration to spot Tavi’s gift, but also their understanding of blogger relations and publishing in the age of Web 2.0.
Innovation is always followed by debates. Here at Socialites Anonymous, we think that Tavi is quite a character—eloquent, fascinating and delightful to read—expressing her musings in a mature tone, yet maintaining that childlike sensibility. Her column in Bazaar makes a relevant contribution, yet it doesn’t claim to be an in-depth, expert analysis – it reflects her playful, experimental approach.
Quirky, curious and idiosyncratic, Tavi unleashes her creative potential through writing and reporting on fashion trends. She is smart and articulate, but the recent media discourse on this issue sensationalizes what is essentially an extracurricular activity. What made a difference is her savvy attitude and the access to new media tools, which have allowed her to share her passion, get feedback and experiment with creative ideas.
While her observations and writing are on-point, she maintains her childlike mannerisms, daring and carefree, as seen in her video reporting for Rodarte. No need for critics to jump at the opportunity of throwing words like ‘exploitation’ or ‘messed up.’ What we are getting out of a 13-year old’s opinion is not in the literal fashion advice sense and it is certainly not meant to tell you “what you are supposed to be buying” as it is not a matter of consumerism here – she is genuinely engaging in, playing with and learning about fashion. We need to be open minded and avoid making stereotypical predictions. What we are gaining is an understanding of the changing publishing landscape, as well as of the shift in cultural notions of childhood, youth, developmental patterns and societal roles, partly as a result of the participatory effects of Web 2.0.
Once again, Harper’s Bazaar proves its flair for capturing cultural phenomena, with their forward-looking, cutting-edge approach. As reported by WWD, the January issue of Bazaar includes a column by Tavi Gevinson, the charming 13-year old fashion blogger behind Style Rookie.
The magazine’s decision to provide a platform for the precocious fashionista demonstrates not only the editor’s inspiration to spot Tavi’s gift, but also their understanding of blogger relations and publishing in the age of Web 2.0.
Innovation is always followed by debates. Here at Socialites Anonymous, we think that Tavi is quite a character—eloquent, fascinating and delightful to read—expressing her musings in a mature tone, yet maintaining that childlike sensibility. Her column in Bazaar makes a relevant contribution, yet it doesn’t claim to be an in-depth, expert analysis – it reflects her playful, experimental approach.
Quirky, curious and idiosyncratic, Tavi unleashes her creative potential through writing and reporting on fashion trends. She is smart and articulate, but the recent media discourse on this issue sensationalizes what is essentially an extracurricular activity. What made a difference is her savvy attitude and the access to new media tools, which have allowed her to share her passion, get feedback and experiment with creative ideas.
While her observations and writing are on-point, she maintains her childlike mannerisms, daring and carefree, as seen in her video reporting for Rodarte. No need for critics to jump at the opportunity of throwing words like ‘exploitation’ or ‘messed up.’ What we are getting out of a 13-year old’s opinion is not in the literal fashion advice sense and it is certainly not meant to tell you “what you are supposed to be buying” as it is not a matter of consumerism here – she is genuinely engaging in, playing with and learning about fashion. We need to be open minded and avoid making stereotypical predictions. What we are gaining is an understanding of the changing publishing landscape, as well as of the shift in cultural notions of childhood, youth, developmental patterns and societal roles, partly as a result of the participatory effects of Web 2.0.
Speaking of Web 2.0 and publishing models, check out Tavi's thoughts on the role of blogs and fashion magazines.
We truly agree with Jezebel on this one:
“Gevinson sounds like nothing more or less than an uncommonly smart 13-year-old. Because that's what being 13 kind of is: you're young enough that having too much free time is still a problem — hence the ability to devote extraordinary levels of concentration to extracurricular obsessions — but old enough to be developing in curiosity and understanding of the grown-up world.
Saying that Tavi Gevinson couldn't possibly be authoring her own work because of her age just underlines our society's innate prejudice against adolescents. Why should our expectations be set so low? And, perhaps, it shows just how willing we are to forget our earlier selves.
Perhaps this backlash is coming from people who remember how they were at 13, too — and recognize that they weren't at Tavi Gevinson's level of proficiency. Not by a long shot.”
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1 comments:
Her about this girl the other day.
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