Some of the most powerful voices in fashion these days haven’t graduated from high school yet. Teen bloggers are the next big thing in the fashion world and major adult publications and designers are paying real attention to what they have to say. Jane Aldridge, now 18, was feeling isolated in the small Texas town of Trophy Club when she decided to start her blog, “Sea of Shoes” at age 15. She hoped for a few readers, but now she gets about 70,000 hits a day and she’s being featured in magazines like Vanity Fair, Teen Vogue and designing shoes for Urban Outfitters. She is being home schooled for her senior year and spends about four days a week composing photo shoots for her blog, mostly pictures of herself in outfits that she’s put together with her excellent eye for trends. Jane says being so far away from the fashion hubs of the world is inspiring, “It sort of inspires you to create your own little world.”
Jane isn’t the only junior fashionista that’s getting a lot of attention from the industry. Young bloggers are filling fronts rows at Fashion Week, teaming with international magazines and working with major clothing brands. 13 year old Tavi Gevinson, who writes a blog called the Style Rookie, was a big part of introducing the Rodarte line at Target and been on the cover of Pop magazine. Her commentary has even appeared in Harper’s Bazaar. American Apparel has designed several ads around young bloggers and several other brands are designing in partnership with these wunderkind.
But not everyone is pleased to see the junior miss section take the fashion world by storm. Elle magazine’s Anne Slowey told New York magazine’s Cut blog that she thinks Harper’s hiring a 13 year old for fashion commentary “feels a big gimmicky.” She wonders, “What am I getting out of a 13 year old’s opinion about fashion?”
Simon Doonan, creative director at Barneys New York is worried about the effect all this attention will have on the young bloggers at the center of this particular media storm. “In your 20s, it’s great to be a nobody so that you can figure out who you are and not place any expectations on yourself,” he says. But Jane Aldridge isn’t worried about the pressures of fame, she’s just enjoying her large than life moment. As she puts it, “I’m not sure that a normal life would be for me.”
Photo courtesy of SEA OF SHOES
