SINGAPORE — Zoe Gabriel, 17-year-old TikToker who was mocked online for calling Charles & Keith a “luxury” brand, impressed the C&K founders with her high EQ in handling haters’ comments so much that the company invited Zoe and her father to have lunch with its founders.

On Monday (9 January), Zoe posted a video on TikTok, shared her cheerfulness and thanked her father for gifting her “first luxury bag” from Charles & Keith, a Singapore-grown fashion brand.

Zoe excitedly unboxed the S$79.90 worth black Double Handle Tote Bag in the video.

But she was mocked by some netizens for calling her Charles & Keith handbag a ‘luxury’ item to the point where she had to turn off some negative comments on her video.

@zohtaco

thank you dad 🥹

♬ Glitch – Just audios

Zoe’s video has since garnered 6.5 Million views, with many pouring in supportive comments to Zoe, encouraging her to walk away from those naysayers, and expressing their admiration for Zoe in receiving her first fancy bag from her beloved father:

A TikToker from Sri Lanka commented that C&K is the ultimate luxury in her country, and she admired how Zoe treated that bag which made her feel special because she also owns one C&K handbag.

“My family didn’t have a lot”

In another video, Zoe addressed the haters’ comments.

“Money is… a topic that makes me most uncomfortable to talk about, ” she said, “And that is because growing up, I did not have a lot. My family didn’t have a lot.”

“We couldn’t buy new things as simple as bread from Breadtalk…, ” she said in a tearful tone, adding that occasional trips to BreadTalk were already considered a luxury to them when they first move to Singapore.

“Everytime we passed by a store, my parents would just say next time. But next time we’d never come.”

She replied to @cressy, one of the TikToker who left a negative comment on her video, that her comment ” spoke volumes on how ignorant you seem because of your wealth.”

“To you, an S$80 bag may not be a luxury, but for me and my family, it is a lot, ” she expressed her gratitude to her father, who worked hard to buy her the bag.

“I can’t believe I got hate over a bag that I was so excited to have.”

@zohtaco

Replying to @cressy i am so happy and grateful for you, that you can consider charles and keith not a luxury. also btw if you google it, lots of sources do classify them as a luxury brand. so.

♬ original sound – zoe 🦋 – zoe 🦋

TikToker urged C&K to sponsor Zoe “few more bags”

Besides show solidarity with Zoe, some netizens had urged C&K to address the incident, suggested the company to sponsor “few more bags” to Zoe:

TikToker Mika even nudged C&K on its official TikTok page, urging the local brand to check with Zoe over recent C&K’s handbag saga.

C&K TikTok admin replied that their team “is aware of the content” and has already reached out to Zoe.

TikToker Jeanderson further suggested C&K could invite Zoe as the company’s new model:

Charles & Keith responded, invited Zoe and her father to lunch with its founder

According to The Strait Times,  Charles & Keith told ST in an e-mail: “Our heart really went out to Zoe, but we were so impressed with (how gracefully) she handled the situation, displaying wisdom far beyond her years and values that resonated with us greatly.”

“Our founders believe that our products should spark joy, empower fashion lovers and give them confidence, something we believe she presented so eloquently in her video and for which we are so grateful.”

Although some netizens had called C&K to sponsor Zoe with a “few more bags”, C&K has yet to reveal whether they will do so or will collaborate with Zoe in future.

But C&K has invited Zoe and her father to have lunch with its founders who, “coming from humble beginnings, were so inspired by her humility”.

Zoe could likely be invited to take a tour in Charles & Keith headquarters also.

Takagi Ramen Offers S$80 Voucher To Zoe

Takagi Ramen, a local ramen chain, also weighed in C&K’s handbag saga. After hearing Zoe’s story, they offered Zoe an S$80 voucher so she could treat her dad to a hearty meal.

In a Facebook post on Monday (9 January), Takagi Ramen said they were “angry and disturbed” to hear about Zoe being mocked by the rich elites just for enjoying and appreciating an $80 C&K handbag.

“It’s okay girl, don’t let these haters affect you. It’s not how much we have, but how much we enjoy that makes happiness, ” the post wrote.

“Be happy and proud for being an Average Singaporean, Takagi Ramen’s mission is to serve such resilient people like you!”

On the next day, Takagi Ramen shared another post of Zoe bringing her dad to visit their restaurant.

“Thank you Zoe for showing appreciation for your father’s handbag gift. The true value of a gift is the sentiment behind the gifting.”

“Goodness and resilience definitely spread within this family, it was such a pleasure serving them!”

A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which I enjoy with my whole heart. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control about the blind texts it is an almost unorthographic life One day however a small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her not to do so, because there were thousands of bad Commas, wild Question Marks and devious Semikoli, but the Little Blind Text didn’t listen.

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A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul

On her way she met a copy. The copy warned the Little Blind Text, that where it came from it would have been rewritten a thousand times and everything that was left from its origin would be the word “and” and the Little Blind Text should turn around and return to its own, safe country.A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which I enjoy with my whole heart. I am alone, and feel the charm of existence in this spot, which was created for the bliss of souls like mine. I am so happy, my dear friend, so absorbed in the exquisite sense of mere tranquil existence, that I neglect my talents.

But nothing the copy said could convince her and so it didn’t take long until a few insidious Copy Writers ambushed her, made her drunk with Longe and Parole and dragged her into their agency, where they abused her for their projects again and again.

Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly into your mouth.

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Walk down the Uluwatu beach

A collection of textile samples lay spread out on the table – Samsa was a travelling salesman – and above it there hung a picture that he had recently cut out of an illustrated magazine and housed in a nice, gilded frame. It showed a lady fitted out with a fur hat and fur boa who sat upright, raising a heavy fur muff that covered the whole of her lower arm towards the viewer.

Gregor then turned to look out the window at the dull weather. Drops of rain could be heard hitting the pane, which made him feel quite sad. “How about if I sleep a little bit longer and forget all this nonsense”, he thought, but that was something he was unable to do because he was used to sleeping on his right, and in his present state couldn’t get into that position. However hard he threw himself onto his right, he always rolled back to where he was.

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His room, a proper human room although a little too small, lay peacefully between its four familiar walls. A collection of textile samples lay spread out on the table – Samsa was a travelling salesman – and above it there hung a picture that he had recently cut out of an illustrated magazine and housed in a nice, gilded frame.

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Lonely girl waiting for a loved one on the beach

It is a paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly into your mouth. One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin. He lay on his armour-like back, and if he lifted his head a little he could see his brown belly, slightly domed and divided by arches into stiff sections. The bedding was hardly able to cover it and seemed ready to slide off any moment.

It showed a lady fitted out with a fur hat and fur boa who sat upright, raising a heavy fur muff that covered the whole of her lower arm towards the viewer. Gregor then turned to look out the window at the dull weather. Drops of rain could be heard hitting the pane, which made him feel quite sad.