Friday, March 22, 2013

Vera Wang race row: Brides at designer's Chinese store charged £300 just to TRY ON wedding dresses

Vera Wang race row: Brides at designer's Chinese store charged £300 just to TRY ON wedding dresses

By Bianca London

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She has designed gorgeous wedding gowns for the likes of Mariah Carey, Victoria Beckham and Kim Kardashian, so it is fair to say that Vera Wang's creations are in hot demand.

But the famed designer has found herself in a race row after news emerged that she is charging brides just to try on her gowns in one particular part of the world..

When the 63-year-old opened her two-story, 850 square meter flagship in the heart of Shanghai, potential brides were ecstatic at the prospect of snapping up a couture gown at the first ever and only store in the whole of China.

But their excitement soon turned to outrage when they discovered they were going to be charged a non-refundable fee of 3,000 yuan (£318) just to try on gowns for only 90 minutes.

Race Row: Vera Wang is caught up in a race row after it emerged brides at Chinese megastore are charged over £300 just to try her wedding dresses

Race Row: Vera Wang is caught up in a race row after it emerged brides at Chinese megastore are charged over £300 just to try her wedding dresses

In spite of the steep fee, the store has seen a huge amount of visitors, with brides booking months in advance to try on dresses.

With 10 million Chinese couples marrying every year in a country where the wedding industry is said to be worth £8.5 billion, Ms. Wang looks set to make a hefty profit from overzealous brides desperate to snap up her designs.

Famous fans: Kim Kardashian, a family friend of the designer, and Mariah Carey both wore Vera's designs on their big days

Local press have slammed the designer, especially as Wang is herself a first generation Chinese American, who's parents were born in Shanghai.

The brand is defending the fee to try on the dresses as a method of protecting their designs.

Blog, Shanghaiist.com, wrote: 'While brides are bribed with wine and flattery in her other flagships around the world, she's expecting the brides to bribe her in China.'

And it isn't just Vera Wang imposing these hefty fees in China.

Omega watches charges customers three times as much for their wrist candy in China than in their Milan store and also charges for a replacement service, which is free in Europe.

Much coveted: Her designs, as worn by Keira Knightley, Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz, are causing a frenzy in China- despite the hefty fee

MailOnline has contacted Vera Wang for a comment.

VERA WANG: THE HISTORY OF A DESIGNER

Vera Wang worked at U.S. Vogue for 16 years as a senior fashion editor before leaving and setting up her bridal design company.

She left Vogue after she was overlooked for the editor-in-chief position, currently held by Anna Wintour, and went to work at Ralph Lauren, where she stayed on as design director for two years.

In 1990 she opened a bridal salon in New York's Carlyle hotel where her dresses continue to be sold today.

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