SINGAPORE — Zoe Gabriel, a 17-year-old TikToker who was mocked online for calling Charles & Keith (C&K) a “luxury” brand, has met up with the co-founder of the Singapore-grown fashion brand after an invitation was extended to the teen and her father.
Posting on her Instagram account, Zoe shared photos of Mr Keith Wong, C&K co-founder, with her in front of the fashion brand’s headquarters building.
She wrote, “We had such an amazing opportunity to visit @charleskeithofficial‘s headquarters, and learn more about the behind-the-scenes! it was so fun, everybody was so nice and accommodating.”
“We had the chance to sit down with Keith and get to know their company a little better. thank you to everybody who has shown their support!!! 🙂 without you, we would never be here <3”
Zoe also shared that she was wearing the C&K’s Lucile Satin Platform Sandals, in black, with special thanks to Miss Lyn Ng.
Writing in response to her Instagram post, C&K’s official Instagram account commented, “Thanks for visiting! We were happy to have you and your dad at our HQ office – hope you enjoyed the lunch and had a meaningful experience with us.”
C&K had earlier said to Straits Times 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.”
Mocked for calling C&K a luxury brand
Earlier on Monday (9 Jan), Zoe had posted a video on TikTok, sharing her cheerfulness and thanking her father for gifting her “first luxury bag” from C&K, who then excitedly unboxed the S$79.90 worth black Double Handle Tote Bag.
However, she was then mocked by some netizens for calling her C&K handbag a ‘luxury’ item to the point where she had to turn off some negative comments on her video.
@zohtaco thank you dad 🥹
Since then, Zoe’s video has since garnered 6.5 Million views, with many pouring in supportive comments to Zoe, encouraging her to walk away from the naysayers, and expressing their admiration for Zoe’s appreciative attitude towards having received 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 critics’ 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.
