The Future of Fashion

The growing crop of underage fashion bloggers, who are getting attention from the most important designers of the moment, may have the boldest style yet.

While more mature fashion bloggers are certainly popular, it seems that these youngsters "get" fashion more than the rest of us — they boldly wear true runway looks, customizing them with their own entirely unique style. They mix high and low, designer and thrift shop, in unapologetic ways, often adding their own zany touches. Sometimes high-fashion looks leave us scratching our heads, but perhaps these kids hold the secret to wearing whatever style you desire: own it, and make it uniquely you.

The 17-year-old writer behind Sea of Shoes, Jane Aldridge, displays the products of her fashion intuition, garnering so many opportunities in the fashion industry that she chose to complete her senior year credits through home-schooling. Inspired by her society-queen mother's couture style, Aldridge's signature style melds debutante sensibilities with edgy preferences, making her a sort of Blair Waldorf-Serena Van Der Woodsen hybrid. She wears towering platform booties by iconic French designers and coats by British wunderkinds, whether strolling around her suburban town outside of Dallas, designing a shoe line for Urban Outfitters, or being photographed for a feature in Vogue. If nothing else, Sea of Shoes is an ongoing record of a real-life budding fashionista.

Camille Rushanaedy, of the blog Childhood Flames, documents her demure, minimalist style between attending classes at Portland University, despite being only sixteen. With a loyal blog following of over two years, Camille has become known in the online fashion community as a young and model-esque perpetrator of artful, highly structured ensembles. She photographs and posts monochromatic, precisely balanced looks, using proportional volumes and a mix of pieces from high-end designers such as Hussein Chalayan and regular department stores such as Target. She then accents most looks with a slash of orange-red lipstick and towering Marni platforms or Jil Sander pumps. Her stylish blog entries have attracted the attention of designers, too — especially up-and-comers who have innovative approaches to today's fashion norms, such as those behind the independent brand Complex Geometries. She was invited to and attended the super of-the-moment Erin Wasson x RVCA show, along with the shows of Alice Temperley, Karen Walker and Ports 1961. Camille's impressively mature style could inspire anyone looking to rework their wardrobe with an edgier look.

The youngest of the bunch is the most unlikely prodigy, but has garnered an incredible amount of attention from both the press and the fashion industry, including muse status for current fashion design stars Laura and Kate Mulleavy of Rodarte. Tavi Gevinson, in her blog Style Rookie, writes about her love for such artists in fashion as Comme des Garcons' Rei Kawakubo and posts pictures of her daily mini-couture-granny outfits, mostly crafted from gifts sent by designer fans (including Rodarte tights and a Christian Siriano skirt). She took a week off from eighth grade in order to attend several major fashion shows the Spring/Summer 2010 Fashion Week in New York, including Alexander Wang, Marc Jacobs, and Thakoon. Not only does she have an incredible eye for interesting hats and killer shoes, but she also writes with an impressive vocabulary and an infectious sense of humor. Reading her blog is not only entertaining, but it could teach us quite a bit about innovative, unique style.

These young writers have an eye for fashion beyond their years. Right now, the blogs they keep for fun are making a strong bid for a change in the medium, demographic, and especially the source of fashion journalism. Their refusal to adhere to a precedented style gives us a surprising and thrilling example of how fashion, as an art, should be worn.