The title of her blog might be a bit of a misnomer these days. She has sat front row at New York Fashion Week, met Karl Lagerfeld, been flown to Tokyo, and is getting ready to launch a magazine. Contrary to what her ironically-named blog might suggest, Tavi Gevinson is anything but a style rookie. She can now add being interviewed by Katie Couric to her long list of impressive teenage accomplishments.
In the March issue of Glamour, Katie Couric asks the 14-year old blogging-sensation the questions that anyone who is familiar with Tavi might be wondering. Who are her style influences? What inspires her own unique sense of fashion? How does she manage to be a normal high school student and jet around the globe attending fashion shows and industry parties? How does she handle the criticism she receives from fashion insiders? And, how did someone from a Chicago suburb fall into the world of high fashion?
Tavi thoughtfully answers all of these questions, while revealing herself to be someone who is genuinely intellectually curious about the world. One of my favorite comments from the entire interview was this one: "If I hear about something and I don't know what it is, I find out." I think intellectual curiosity is the single greatest attribute a person can have. Perhaps that is why Tavi is able to write about everything from the music of Bob Dylan to the eccentric fashions of Rei Kawakubo with such authority and zeal. I may have been skeptical when she first emerged on the fashion scene, but I think this interview may have won me over. If someone has the courage and conviction to follow his/her passions, not to mention succeed, that should be applauded.
Despite her high profile in the fashion community, Tavi also revealed that she has remained rather grounded. When asked if she plays sports, Tavi responded by saying, "Oh God, I'm awful at sports. In gym I just try and avoid getting hit in the face." That was basically my strategy during gym class! I used to get in trouble for hiding my note cards in my baseball mit or pockets during gym class. Hey, I didn't want to waste valuable study time! I also loved how she explained that her love for fashion is truly an outlet for her own creativity and personal exploration, which is how it should be. Nothing else has the power to transform quite like fashion.
In sum, this was an excellent interview. I really enjoyed reading Tavi's responses. Fortunately, Ms. Couric did not throw her a curve ball by asking her to name one of those books she's been reading. Though, I doubt Tavi would have had any difficulty doing so.
** interview quotations and photo from www.glamour.com**
No comments:
Post a Comment