Netizens mocked TikTok user “zohtaco” for calling Charles & Keith a luxury brand in a video posted of herself acquiring and unboxing an S$80 bag. You may watch the said video below:
@zohtacothank you dad 🥹
A number of negative comments questioning the brand’s luxury status were left on her post.
Kindness exists
“Zohtaco”, a 17-year-old identified as Zoe, posted the video on her TikTok profile on Saturday (7 Jan). She modelled with the bag in her video, calling it her “first luxury bag.”
Referring to Charles & Keith’s website, the price of a bag ranges between S$36.90 and S$199. Based on the price, users don’t consider the brand to be luxurious because it shouldn’t be of the same level as brands like Chanel, Gucci or Dior. One user wrote: “That’s not even famous or expensive #tryinghard.”
Most online users came to Zoe’s defence with supportive comments. They congratulated her on the purchase and advised her to ignore the negative comments.
One user reasoned: “To youngsters or even adults, Charles & Keith is (a) luxury.”
Another person wrote: “Doesn’t matter if it is a luxury brand. It’s love from your dad; no Chanel or Hermes can replace a father’s love.”
Humble background
One negative comment by “cressy” read: “Who’s (going to) tell her?”, suggests that someone should let Zoe know that Charles & Keith is not considered a luxury brand.
In response to “cressy”, Zoe posted another video saying, “Your comment spoke volumes on how ignorant you seem because of your wealth. To you, an S$80 bag may not be a luxury. To me and my family, it is a lot.”
Zoe opened up that money is an uncomfortable topic for her to talk about as her family “did not have a lot” growing up.
She added, “I just want to remind everyone that just because you’re not well off doesn’t mean you don’t deserve or cannot have nice things… for some of us, it just might take a little longer to get to them.”
Defining luxury
Luxury is a state of great comfort or elegance, especially when involving great expense. So, depending on your current financial standing, Charles & Keith could be a luxury but someone with a higher disposable income would consider brands like Chanel to be a luxury.
Aside from our individual perspectives and predicament, from a brand positioning standpoint, Charles & Keith would technically not fall under luxury brands like Hermes, Chanel and Prada.
The brand however was recently named in Forbes’ 2022 list of Singapore’s 50 Richest, with a net worth of about $1.04 billion. So, the company is a strong contender in the fashion arena and as Singaporeans, we should celebrate this achievement.
Nonetheless, let’s be reminded that there are people from all walks of life under different circumstances.
