FASHION designer Vera Wang has sparked controversy with a plan to charge brides-to-be 3,000 yuan (US$482) to try on dresses at her new store in Shanghai.
Wang's first flagship bridal shop in China will be the only one of her stores across the world to ask for a non-refundable deposit when it opens tomorrow.
The charge has been criticized online with one Shanghai resident calling it "pure discrimination" against Chinese customers.
"If I decide not to buy anything, then I have to donate the 3,000 yuan to the store. The problem is that Vera Wang stores in other countries don't have such rules. It is totally discrimination," a Shanghai netizen called phoenixli posted online.
However, a public relations official for the company denied the charge was discriminatory but a way to provide a better environment for customers - ensuring only serious customers shop there - and to protect the copyright of the designer's wedding dresses.
Taking photographs or filming in the store is also banned to prevent designs being copied.
Customers who want to try on dresses at the Shanghai store on downtown Madang Road will have to make an appointment and pay the fee, the PR official said. They will have 90 minutes to try on wedding dresses, normally time enough to try on about eight or nine bridal gowns, she said.
The fee will be deducted from the purchase price, but is non-refundable.
"It is indeed terrible news for some men in Shanghai. Whether their girlfriends or wives buy or not at that store, they have to pay the money if they simply try things on," said city resident Xie Fangzhou, 29.
But some people said the store needs the rule to ensure its clothes are treated with care.
"The company might be scared by some rough Chinese shoppers who might damage their products when trying them on. And, indeed, those who are determined and capable of affording the products would not care about the fitting fee," Xiaohongmao commented online.
The two-story store will display around 80 dresses, with prices ranging from 30,000 yuan to 300,000 yuan.
Wang, 63, was born and raised in New York, but her parents are from Shanghai.
Wang's first flagship bridal shop in China will be the only one of her stores across the world to ask for a non-refundable deposit when it opens tomorrow.
The charge has been criticized online with one Shanghai resident calling it "pure discrimination" against Chinese customers.
"If I decide not to buy anything, then I have to donate the 3,000 yuan to the store. The problem is that Vera Wang stores in other countries don't have such rules. It is totally discrimination," a Shanghai netizen called phoenixli posted online.
However, a public relations official for the company denied the charge was discriminatory but a way to provide a better environment for customers - ensuring only serious customers shop there - and to protect the copyright of the designer's wedding dresses.
Taking photographs or filming in the store is also banned to prevent designs being copied.
Customers who want to try on dresses at the Shanghai store on downtown Madang Road will have to make an appointment and pay the fee, the PR official said. They will have 90 minutes to try on wedding dresses, normally time enough to try on about eight or nine bridal gowns, she said.
The fee will be deducted from the purchase price, but is non-refundable.
"It is indeed terrible news for some men in Shanghai. Whether their girlfriends or wives buy or not at that store, they have to pay the money if they simply try things on," said city resident Xie Fangzhou, 29.
But some people said the store needs the rule to ensure its clothes are treated with care.
"The company might be scared by some rough Chinese shoppers who might damage their products when trying them on. And, indeed, those who are determined and capable of affording the products would not care about the fitting fee," Xiaohongmao commented online.
The two-story store will display around 80 dresses, with prices ranging from 30,000 yuan to 300,000 yuan.
Wang, 63, was born and raised in New York, but her parents are from Shanghai.
