By Sophie Rae
Tavi is a fashion blogger (Style Rookie) and the founder and editor-in-chief of Rookie Magazine, an online magazine for teenage girls. She is also the editor of “Rookie Yearbook One,” the recently released print edition of Rookie Magazine, available here .
How did you first become interested in fashion and blogging?
My friend’s sister had a fashion blog and I admired her confidence and was bored of the stuff I liked and how I dressed, so she showed me links and magazines and I wanted to be a part of that community!
When did you become aware that your blog was successful? What did that feel like?
It was pretty scary at first, since in the beginning it kind of only existed in this vacuum of other people who were doing the same thing I did, and I wasn’t prepared to hear from people who didn’t understand it. In a way I still keep myself in that vacuum, though I read Rookie feedback since Rookie is not about me doing my own thing but about giving the readers what they want to see.
Why did you decide to start Rookie? How is Rookie different from your blog?
I started Rookie because I was becoming a teenager and I felt like there wasn’t anything happening right now that I related to, and I felt like the things that are are pretty static instead of a real conversation, and I knew from the comments when I wrote about this on my blog that other people felt the same way. My blog has always been a place for me to figure stuff out at my own pace, write about whatever intrigues me and just chronicle my changing interests. Rookie is different because it’s not only also about our staff, but also about our community and readers, and serves a purpose beyond my own bubble of interests.
Have your thoughts on fashion changed since you first started blogging?
My thoughts on fashion and style change pretty often, and blogging was a really nice way to document all that. I know that I’ve always believed fashion should be fun and a tool of self-expression and self-love instead of a stressor.
What’s been the greatest challenge of your career so far?
Balancing everything is still a challenge, but it’s worth it.
What’s been your favorite experience?
I can’t decide! I really cherished the L.A. leg of our Rookie Road Trip, making an installation that was just our dream world and sharing it for a week.
What was the Rookie road trip like?
Sensory overload the whole time. It was really special to meet so many of our readers and get to have a really amazing road trip experience with friends at the same time.
How did the Rookie yearbook come about? For those that haven’t seen it, what is it?
The Rookie Yearbook is a print version of the best of our content from our first school year in existence, from September 2011-May 2012. I always had it in the back of my head that I wanted to do a print component to Rookie, and since we’re for teens, yearbook-style made sense. One of our editors is friends with Chris Ware, and he put us in touch with Drawn & Quarterly, who became our publisher. We spent May-July compiling, editing, and designing the content. I narrowed down the content along with our editorial director Anaheed, commissioned original works from Rookie friends, and acted as art director.
What are your top 3 things right now? Books, movies, music, fashion stuff, whatever!
Solange’s new music video for “Losing You,” Chris Ware’s new book “Building Stories”, and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.”
What’s next for you? What are you working on right now?
Right now we’ve been doing events to promote the yearbook and bring all our readers and staff together in New York and Chicago. Toronto and L.A. are coming up.
