In the wake of the Saks Global fallout, I keep thinking about the dress brands—the Jason Wus, Prabal Gurungs, and Elie Saabs of the world—as the last vestige of a proper ready-to-wear market. Sure, they sell daywear, too, but they’re known for dresses, and their clientele are wealthy women who buy full-price gala gowns (and less wealthy women spritzing perfume). The big American exemplars in the space—Oscar de la Renta and Carolina Herrera—still have a very specific cachet. It helps that the former is still run by the de la Renta family, and the latter has the backing of the Spanish conglomerate Puig. But there are plenty of others that just sputter on, continuing to sort of exist—either by making special-order pieces for private clients, or simply by staging runway shows that are underwritten by who knows what.