People ask me about the decision to transition from fashion to 'Rookie' magazine. But it wasn't a decision. I was 14, and my interests were changing.

Interviewing Rei Kawakubo in Tokyo and John Galliano in Paris, both for 'Pop' magazine, were huge for me, not just in learning about fashion and writing but about how little desire I had to be a critic/reporter/journalist/commentator so much as a kind of travel diarist.

The idea that feeling confident and feeling misunderstood are mutually exclusive really bugs me. So a lot of what 'Rookie' is about is just showing that you can be both, and you can like whatever you want.

Sometimes 'Rookie' is written about like, 'Finally! Something for alternative girls!' and I'm like, 'No!' Obviously it's not for everyone, but I used to think that there are cheerleaders, and there are art kids.

One of my intentions with 'Rookie' is for the girls reading it to know that they are already cool enough and smart enough and pretty enough.

I feel like, maybe in the '90s, 'Rookie' would have been shamed for trying to reach a lot of people or trying to be 'mainstream', but I'm so pleased that our readers are happy to see me promoting the 'Rookie' yearbook on TV or whatever.