Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Teen Phenom Tavi Gevinson Talks About Her Magazine, Fashion Blog -- And Finishing High School (Video)

At the age of 11, Gevinson started a fashion blog called Style Rookie.

Recode.net

Tavi Gevinson has done more before graduating high school than many people accomplish in a lifetime.

At the age of 11, Gevinson started a fashion blog, Style Rookie; at the time, she was emulating a friend’s older sister who she thought was cool.

“I saw fashion didn’t have to be this oppressive thing, it was more a form of self-expression,” Gevinson said. “I really admired her and this community of other girls who were doing that and wanted to be a part of that.”

The blog caught on with a devoted group of readers, and the 12-year-old found herself invited to sit front-row at fashion week in New York and Paris and is now a staple presence.

“Through writing every day, I actually became a good writer, and was able to turn it into an outlet that was really helpful to me and just growing in general,” said Gevinson, a suburban Chicago native who speaks with a loping mid-Atlantic accent.

By her sophomore year, Gevinson started an online magazine for teenagers, “Rookie Magazine,” which was pitched as “Sassy” re-imagined for modern teenage girls and attracted its founding editor Jane Pratt as an adviser. “Rookie” is now profitable with four editors and three million monthly readers and has become the 19-year-old’s “full-time job.” She has no plans to go to college.

Even as her publishing empire is flourishing, Gevinson has begun indulging a new passion: Acting. With the help of her agents at United Talent Agency, she has appeared on an episode of NBC’s “Parenthood” as well as in the Kenneth Lonergan play “This Is Our Youth” in New York and Chicago.

“People have told me enough my position is really unique and lucky,” said Gevinson. “It’s insane … it’s such a unique path that I’ve had.”

Here are some video highlights from the conversation:

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Podcasts
Are humanoid robots all hype?Are humanoid robots all hype?
Podcast
Podcasts

AI is making them better — but they’re not going to be doing your chores anytime soon.

By Avishay Artsy and Sean Rameswaram
Future Perfect
The old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemicThe old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemic
Future Perfect

Glycol vapors, explained.

By Shayna Korol
Future Perfect
Elon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wantsElon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wants
Future Perfect

It’s not about who wins. It’s about the dirty laundry you air along the way.

By Sara Herschander
Life
Why banning kids from AI isn’t the answerWhy banning kids from AI isn’t the answer
Life

What kids really need in the age of artificial intelligence.

By Anna North
Culture
Anthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque messAnthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque mess
Culture

“Your AI monster ate all our work. Now you’re trying to pay us off with this piece of garbage that doesn’t work.”

By Constance Grady
Future Perfect
Some deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapySome deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapy
Future Perfect

A medical field that almost died is quietly fixing one disease at a time.

By Bryan Walsh