Essenwood Dress purchased with tear in and refusal to replace or refund

I recently bought and Essenwood white dress from one of the designers at the Space shop in Brooklyn Mall. When I arrived home the dress had a massive tear on inside of wrap around dressd. We immediately contacted the Space and sent them pictures of dress and tear, who asked us to return the dress which I urgently needed for a awards evening that night (and we live 1 hour away). I visited the store the next week who suggested that I tore the dress and offered me R500 to console met. Surely if you pay a premium for a dress you expect stores to double check quality and ensure that customers are 100% satisfied as per Consumer Protection Act. Ive rejected the offer and asked for replacement dress but no response. Really poor service!!