Not a professional tailor, but a long-time sewist. I see here the dilemma of fast fashion vs. what an American seamstress would charge to copy this dress. The design, drafting, manufacture and selling of this dress x 5,000 garments is miniscule in a third world country setting.
But for me, for instance, to draft a pattern from the original, then buy the fabric at American retail prices, fit it to the client, then sew garment up would amount to about $300. Probably way more than the original dress cost at Target.
I would expect to be paid $30 per hour for my time and skills, double minimum wage here in Seattle. (Why sewing my own clothes is a pleasure for me but makes absolutely no sense financially.)
Yesterday I bought a lovely knit shell at BR on sale for $28. It fit, was beautifully sewn and from quality fabric. I could not have sewn it from scratch for that price at all.
This is turning into a mini rant, for which a apologize, but you see what I am getting at .
