Shanghai - Vera Wang, queen of bridal couture, is abolishing the 3,000 yuan (S$600) fee she charged Chinese brides-to-be to try on a garment at her new Shanghai bridal boutique after a global outcry.

The local and global media had criticised the surcharge, meant to deter counterfeiters, as being discriminatory because it was applied only in China, at the company's Shanghai store.

The Shanghai store staged a "soft opening" in January as the company's first bridal salon in the country, a vast potential market as the numbers of wealthy grow.

A Vera Wang spokesman said the charge was being scrapped as of yesterday. "Please kindly be informed that Vera Wang has abolished appointment fees at her bridal salons worldwide starting from March 27, 2013," the spokesman said in an e-mail, without elaborating.

A company spokesman told the local media earlier this year that the charge was imposed to fend off copying of the elaborate dresses, which fetch thousands of dollars for the original.

Despite the move, though, knock-offs of Wang's ivory tulle trains and pinched bodice gowns are widely available on Chinese e-commerce sites for a fraction of the price.

Li, one seller of Vera Wang-style dresses on Taobao Marketplace, China's largest e-commerce site, says he can achieve up to 90 per cent similarity to the namesake garments without even seeing the originals. He declined to give his full name.

A Vera Wang original can range anywhere from US$2,000 (S$2,490) to more than US$10,000, but on Taobao, some imitations go for as little as US$100.

Read the full story here.

Vera Wang's wedding curse?

Vera Wang's wedding dresses are a favourite of many celebrities who have walked down the aisle, but some of their marriages sadly, have not gone the distance.

Click on the photos for celebrities and their Vera Wangs.