They said/We said: Tavi Gevinson speaks out on hypocrisy in the fashion industry

Photography by Henry S. Dziekan III/WireImage
Photography by Henry S. Dziekan III/WireImage

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.

THEY SAID…

The Gloss: “… may be one of the more reasonable things a teenage fashion blogger has ever said. After all, at 13, Tavi may have been young to attend a couture show, but it’s just as likely there was someone even younger on the runway.” [The Gloss]

Huffington Post: “Obviously fashion has caught up, what with livestreaming runway shows, tweeting up a storm, and Tumblring like its life depends on it. But it took younger people, like Tavi and her Rookie readers, to point out the potential of the web.” [Huffington Post]

WE SAID…

Sarah Nicole Prickett, contributor: “Fashion has a very ’50s parental attitude toward the youth in its industry: teenagers should be seen, not heard. I think Tavi is not only correct, but also quite applaud-ably right to call out fashion editors for acting like retrograde moms.”

More Style