WHAT’S considered a luxury brand? 

A 17-year-old Filipina teenager in Singapore received backlash from netizens after she posted a TikTok video calling her Charles and Keith purchase a “luxury bag.”

User @zohtaco, who goes by Zoe, shared her excitement online about her dad’s recent purchase for her — a black Charles and Keith bag, which she said was her “first luxury bag.”

@zohtaco

thank you dad 🥹

♬ Glitch – Just audios

The teenager received hate over this, with some netizens disputing her description and shaming her for her statement.

In a now deleted comment, a TikTok user asked, “Who’s gonna tell her?,” as if implying that contrary to Zoe’s belief, Charles and Keith is not a fancy item.

Humble beginnings

Zoe recorded a TikTok video in response to the comment and shared her family background.

According to the teenager, buying bread from a local Singaporean bakery when she was growing up already felt like a luxury for her. This was because her family “didn’t have a lot of money.”

She also addressed the comment ridiculing her description of her bag, saying that the statement from the TikTok user spoke volumes about the latter’s ignorance caused by wealth.

“To you, an S$80 bag may not be a luxury, [but] for me and my family it is a lot,” Zoe said, turning emotional. “And I was so grateful that my dad was able to get me one.”

At the end of the video, she was seen crying as she expressed her disbelief for the hate she received over a bag.

@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 🦋

Who is Zoe?

Zoe Gabriel is a Filipino who resides in Singapore. With over 31,000 followers, she creates TikTok content about her outfits and life in general.

As the video went viral, many netizens expressed their support for Zoe and praised her for her upbringing and humility.

Netizens were also seen tagging Charles and Keith’s TikTok account, hoping it would sponsor Zoe with some of its products.

Luxury is relative

Meanwhile, Twitter users also shared their sentiments regarding the issue. Aside from sending messages of support to Zoe, some of them commented that luxury is subjective and reminded people to let others enjoy things.

Idk why the TikTok girl got so much hate for posting a video of her getting a Charles & Keith bag and calling it a luxury thing.

Luxury is subjective. And no matter how successful you are throughout the years , some things remain a luxury to the old you.

— Dr Nimelesh (@HausofHilton) January 10, 2023

man I want to hug this girl so bad 😭people can be so malicious and through the tiktok comments you can certainly tell that money can’t buy class,just say you’re miserable and gooo 😭 let people enjoy the little things that they have no matter what brand it is. https://t.co/LWaYoAQoBw

— Sangeetha 𓆸 (@sangsmo44) January 11, 2023

Luxury is not defined by price and that is what does generation has messed up which is why they are all spending hundreds of thousands of dollars wearing labels but still looking two dollars cheap

— Shaun Ross (@ShaundRoss) January 11, 2023

What’s Charles and Keith?

Founded in 1996, Charles and Keith is a Singaporean fashion house and luxury goods company. 

In 2011, luxury group Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) acquired a  20 percent stake in the company, making it part of a group that includes prestigious brands such as Christian Dior, Fendi, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney, Celine, and Bulgari, to name a few.