Tiktok teen mocked for calling Charles & Keith a luxury brand given private tour of company headquarters, meets founder
Seventeen-year-old Zoe Gabriel’s classy response to Tiktok users who mocked her for calling Charles & Keith a luxury brand earned deep admiration not only on social media but also from the company’s co-founder Keith Wong.
In a TikTok video posted on Sunday, January 8, Zoe wanted to express her joy at receiving a new handbag as a gift from her father. Instead, she was mocked by others for labeling her black Charles & Keith Double Handle Tote Bag, which costs S$79.90, her “first luxury bag.”
But some Tiktok users decided to be mean, with one user writing: “Who’s (going to) tell her?” while another wrote “calling c&k a luxury brand is just too much.” Others used the hashtag #tryinghard.
Instead of being mean herself, Zoe fought with grace and elan, explaining in a response video that, “My family didn’t have a lot. We couldn’t buy new things as simple as bread from Bread Talk … That kind of thing was such a luxury to us.”
“When we first moved to Singapore, every time we passed by a store, my parents would just say next time. But next time we’d never come,” she continued.
“Your comment spoke volumes on how ignorant you seem because of your wealth. To you an S$80 bag may not be a luxury. For me and my family it is a lot. And I’m so grateful that my dad was able to get me one. He worked so hard for that,” she said.
“I can’t believe I got hate over a bag that I was so excited to have,” she added.
Zoe and her family had moved to Singapore from the Philippines in 2010.
Many people praised the 17-year-old Zoe, whose Tiktok handle is Zohtaco,” for handling the mockery with grace. She, along with her father, was invited to an exclusive tour of the Singaporean fashion chain’s headquarters in Tai Seng, as well as meet Mr. Wong.
The viral moment sparked an online discussion over what defines “luxury,” the importance of gratitude, and, as Zoe herself puts it the “value and power of words.”
