Charles & Keith Founders Have Lunch With Teen Girl Mocked For Calling The Brand A "Luxury"
"To you, an SGD80 bag may not be a luxury, [but] for me and my family it is a lot. And I was so grateful that my dad was able to get me one."
Earlier this month, a 17-year-old girl was mocked by Singaporeans on TikTok after she posted a video of her buying a bag from Singaporean brand Charles & Keith (C&K) and describing it as her "first luxury bag"
In the video, the teen thanked her father for gifting her the luxury bag.
She was excited and was seen happily unboxing and modelling the black Double Handle Tote Bag, which is priced at SGD79.90 on Charles & Keith's Singapore website and RM299.90 on its Malaysia website.
It is the most expensive bag she owns.
However, her joy did not sit well with others, who mocked the teen for thinking it was a "luxury" brand. They implied that she was ignorant and should know better than to gush over something that's very cheap.
The teen, who has been publicly identified as Zoe Gabriel, then posted a follow-up video, in which she addressed the negativity she received
Unlike her first joy-filled video, she was emotional in the second one as she shared about her family's financial difficulties and how grateful she was to receive such a gift from her hard-working father.
"Money is the topic that makes me most uncomfortable to talk about because growing up, I did not have a lot," she shared while tearfully adding that her family could not afford to buy bread from BreadTalk.
"That [a simple bread] 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 the next time would never come," she recounted.
Addressing one of the negative comments, Zoe remarked how wealth makes people ignorant.
"To you, an SGD80 bag may not be a luxury, [but] for me and my family it is a lot. And I was so grateful that my dad was able to get me one," she added in the follow-up video, which has gone viral.
"I can't believe I got hate over a bag that I was so excited to have."
Zoe's response has since impressed Charles & Keith founders
According to the company's spokesperson, the founders have invited Zoe and her father out for lunch which will be followed by a tour of the brand's headquarters.
"Our hearts 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," The Straits Times quoted the spokesperson as saying.
Zoe shared on Instagram last night, 12 January, that she and her father had the incredible opportunity to visit the Charles & Keith headquarters and learn more about what goes on behind the scenes
Zoe with her father at the Charles and Keith headquarters in Singapore.
Image via @zoeaaleah (Instagram)
Meanwhile, shoppers in Malaysia will be forking out an extra 10% tax when purchasing imported low-value goods online starting April:
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