Fashion: The Big A

He still refers to longtime customers deferentially, by their last names. Mrs.

Onassis. Mrs. Paley. The Duchess of Windsor. They would not know his own surname—Sardifia —from a sign of the Zodiac or a veal sauce. By his first name there is no mistaking Designer Adolfo, currently the big A of fashion.

The midi-dress and the maxicoat, harem pants and bolero jackets—all are credited to Adolfo. His lace and or gandy blouses, gingham dirndl skirts and big-brimmed straw hats have turned teeny-boppers into minor Elvira Madigans. This spring it was the patchwork look—on...