| Charm and Talent Were there only more fashion designers like Adolfo! By Karen Alberg Grossman - MR Magazine With the opening of a new showroom and the launch of a new contemporary “Adolfo Jeune” collection for spring ’09 (check out the fabulous unstructured sportcoat with stitched lapels and working buttonholes at $195 retail), Paul and Lee Wattenberg couldn’t be happier. Nor could I, when I recently had the occasion to meet the designer himself: Adolfo Sardina. Born in Cuba in 1933, Adolfo immigrated to NYC in ’48, became a citizen in ’58 and served in the U.S. Navy. His design career began as an apprentice millinery designer at Bergdorf Goodman; from there he went to the Balenciaga Salon in Paris. He also apprenticed with Chanel, opened his own millinery salon in 1962, and then expanded into clothing. If you happened to have been in Manhattan on January 31, 1977, you might remember borough president Percy Sutton declaring an official “Adolfo Day.” For more than 25 years, Adolfo dressed society ladies from C.Z. Guest and Betsy Bloomingdale to Jackie Kennedy and the Duchess of Windsor. |
He’s received several Coty awards and today oversees numerous licenses. Humble and gracious, Adolfo does not brag about his accomplishments, never even mentioning that a little red dress he designed for his friend Nancy Reagan is in the Smithsonian. Instead, he talks about menswear designers he currently admires, a list that includes Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs and Ralph Lauren. But personally, he wears Adolfo. “My clothes from the past seem to last forever,” he almost apologizes. Today, he’s wearing a double-breasted blazer with slim gray trousers, a crisp checked shirt, and knit tie. “I sometimes shop at Bloomingdale’s, Bergdorf or Selfridges. I like to dress quietly: a navy blazer with gray flannel
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