( CNN ) -- U.S. luxury bridal designer Vera Wang 's first store in China has gotten off to an unfashionable start . Amid cries of discrimination , the company announced Wednesday it would scrap a controversial policy of charging customers a nearly $ 500 fee to try on clothes . The store , which had its soft launch in Shanghai in January , has been charging customers a RMB 3000 ( US $ 480 ) fee for a 90-minute appointment to try on its famous wedding gowns . The non-refundable fee would be credited toward any purchase made . Local media and netizens have decried the fee , exclusive to the Shanghai store , as discriminatory to Chinese customers . Some speculated that the fee was intended to discourage efforts to copy Wang 's coveted bridal designs , which can run several thousand dollars per gown . `` In the United States , they say unmarried women want a Vera Wang gown , divorced women miss their Vera Wang gown , women remarrying are glad they can have a Vera Wang gown , '' wrote user Wumei120 on the popular Sina Weibo microblogging platform . `` Each Vera Wang wedding dress is a piece of fine art . To see such wonderful work , girls can not help but want one . '' A search for Vera Wang dresses on Taobao , a popular online marketplace , revealed prices for as low as RMB 273 ( US $ 44 ) for knock-off versions . A spokeswoman at the Shanghai store would not confirm if the fee was aimed at discouraging copycat efforts , emphasizing only that it ensured a `` luxury shopping experience , '' complete with a personal shopping assistant and afternoon tea . She said the store had been instructed via e-mail on Wednesday to adhere to the brand 's global standards and scrap the fee upon its grand opening , which the company has previously announced as April 29 . Vera Wang 's collections were previously distributed in China only through high-end boutiques and department stores . Chinese consumers currently account for approximately 27 % of worldwide luxury consumption , according to a December report by management consultancy McKinsey & Co . It called China the `` paramount driver of growth '' in the luxury sector , estimating its consumers would make up 34 % of global luxury spending by 2015 . Alexis Lai reported and wrote from Hong Kong , and Lucrezia Seu reported from Beijing .
U.S. luxury bridal designer Vera Wang 's first store in China charging US $ 480 to try on clothes . Fee was exclusive to Shanghai store , prompting cries of discrimination against Chinese . Some speculated fee was intended to discourage copycat designs . Comment: