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¶ Adolfo Sardina, 43, came to the U.S. from his native Cuba in 1956 and opened his own house in 1962 with a $10,000 loan from Bill Blass. The loan was repaid within a year as Adolfo's well-bred, expensive (up to $775 for Chanel-type hand-knit suits) couture clothes caught on. American style, as he sees it, "is an aura of comfort, elegance and youth. It's a feeling." The feeling is shared by such customers as Betsy Bloomingdale, Nancy Reagan, Gloria Vanderbilt Cooper, Mrs. Ray Stark, Babe Paley and Mario Thomas, who helped build Adolfo's retail sales to $6 million last year.
¶ Manhattan-born Albert Capraro, 32, a onetime assistant to de la Renta, had a Ford in his future. After only six months on his own in January 1975, he was asked to show his collection to the First Lady. Betty Ford was soon joined as a customer by Daughter Susan and Barbara Walters, the current Miss America and three of her predecessors, Polly Bergen and Ambassador to Britain Anne Armstrong. Capraro's brightly colored, low-priced jumpsuits ($100) and one-piece dresses (from $60) are as close to Middle America as Seventh Avenue can get—and last year Capraro clothes sold $14 million retail.
¶ After his fifth year and one Coty, John Anthony, 38, a New Yorker of Italian descent who worked his way up in the trade, will have retail sales this year of $6 million, and can say: "I don't want to go above that." He explains: "I design for a small, strong audience. I'm a drop in the ocean, but my audience is select. She's a celebrity, a movie star, she's in society, she's a President's wife. She may even be a working girl who doesn't mind having one or two outfits; not everyone can afford $200 to $300 for a dress. She is a very special lady." The ladies also have to be slim and fairly tall ("I don't want to be for Kate Smiths or Gloria Swansons"). Among those who qualify: Polly Bergen, Audrey Meadows, Lois Chiles, Nancy Reagan.
¶ Carol Horn, 39, a Coty winner last year, also covers the world—Japan, Rumania, Guatemala, India—but on a budget. A native New Yorker who had no formal fashion training, she uses offbeat fabrics that "people want to touch," and makes inexpensive multipurpose clothes such as a crinkled cotton caftan. "My ideal garment," she says, "is one I can walk around the house in, toss over a bathing suit at the beach, dress up with accessories and wear out at night." Her Habitat ready-to-wear line did $5 million retail in 1975, its first year, and is expected to grow 50% in 1976. Horn buffs include Goldie Hawn, Dina Merrill, Evonne Goolagong and Isabelle Adjani.