Smashing Grandpa
Smashing Grandpa is a fabulous fashion line that reeks attitude, style and wit - traits embodied by the creative brains behind the label, Leslie Gardner. Leslie started out in New York during the decade of teased hair and red spandex. When Glam Metal dudes and Glitter Rockers gigged they turned to the then Fashion Institute of Technology student for custom costumes to wear when they patrolled the stage. She soon found her metier turning out bespoke gear for the cool East Village crowd but, as soon as she graduated fashion college, hightailed it to Los Angeles where there was no shortage of rock 'n' rollers more interested in cutting a dash on the Strip than practicing chord changes. Soon she was styling 80's rock god guitarists and their Sunset Strip wannabe counterparts for photo shoots and music videos as they passed through the Rainbow on their way to MTV or the Billboard charts. But a decade spent grooming stars ended in the mid-90s when, inspired by this Hollywood Babylon lifestyle and her favorite legendary rock stars (who were all, by now, "smashing grandpas"), Leslie designed her first rock T-shirt. Breathing new life and designs into an old staple that had grown tired and lazy during the eighties, it was an immediate hit. The Smashing Grandpa signature - marrying cutting edge slogans and sharp graphics with flattering feminine silhouettes - was born with Leslie single handedly reinventing rock 'n' roll designer gear. In the process she elevated the rock T to fashion icon status and a perennial wardrobe essential. This is Rock Couture.
