Teen in Charles & Keith Saga Models for the Brand for International Women’s Day 2023

Remember the big hoo-ha over whether Charles & Keith can be considered a luxury brand?

The teen who was shamed online for calling Charles & Keith a luxury brand recently modelled for the brand’s International Women’s Day campaign.

Here’s what you need to know.

Brand Community Ambassador

You probably remember 17-year-old Zoe Gabriel, who goes by @zohtaco on TikTok.

She went viral in January for an unboxing video of her “first luxury bag” that her father bought for her from Charles & Keith.

This one TikTok video prompted an onslaught of hate simply because she considered Charles & Keith a luxury brand.

Recently, she became one of the faces of the brand’s International Women’s Day campaign.

On 4 March, Charles & Keith shared a photo of Zoe posing with the brand’s purple Alia bag, accompanied by a handwritten note she penned.

She wrote, “Women are like flowers: our time and needs to grow may not always align, but that is okay.”

“We are like fields of poppy and lakes of lotus – diverse and bold in our differences, beautiful in our own ways.”

“This International Women’s Day, let us celebrate with compassion. Let us celebrate with equality through equity, the way flowers do.”

In the post’s caption, Zoe is credited as a content creator and Charles & Keith’s brand community ambassador.

Support for Zoe

Zoe also shared the post on her personal Instagram account.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by zoe gabriel (@zoeaaleah)

Unlike previously, her post has since seen an immense amount of support.

Image: Instagram (@zoeaaleah)

Some netizens felt that she deserved the feature and role of brand ambassador. 

Image: Instagram (@zoeaaleah)

Others commended her for managing to come out of the saga stronger.

Image: Instagram (@zoeaaleah)

On the same day, Zoe also released a TikTok video teasing her role as Charles & Keith’s community brand ambassador.

Showing previous comments of netizens thinking she should be the brand’s community brand ambassador, the video ends with a repost of the Charles & Keith’s post that features her.

Image: TikTok (@zohtaco)
Image: TikTok (@zohtaco)

Magazine FEMALE Singapore reposted the post on its Instagram account as well.

 

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A post shared by FEMALE Singapore (@female_singapore)

It wrote, “The 17-year-old student and TikToker made headlines earlier this year after being trolled online by naysayers who mocked her for calling a @charleskeithofficial bag gifted by her dad as a “luxury” item.”

“Now, she’s making the ultimate clap back as one of the faces of the fashion brand’s International Women’s Day campaign.”

The Saga

In January, Zoe uploaded a TikTok video unboxing her “first luxury bag” that her father had bought for her.

@zohtacothank you dad 🥹♬ Glitch – Just audios

The bag was from Charles & Keith.

However, the video went viral as people debated whether Charles & Keith is considered a luxury brand.

Many called her out and shamed her for calling the brand a luxury brand.

She then uploaded a response video explaining that her family did not have much when she was growing up.

Shortly after, the brand invited Zoe and her father to have lunch with the founders.

She was subsequently showered with several more Charles & Keith bags.

Other brands like Takagi Ramen also stepped in to offer her support.

If you can’t wrap your head around why this incident was a big hoo-ha, here’s a quick summary to help you out:

 

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Purple Alia Bag

What’s so special about the bag Zoe is posing with?

The bag is one of the brand’s bestsellers but has a deeper meaning too.

The colours of International Women’s Day, which falls on 8 March, are purple, green and white.

According to the International Women’s Day website, purple signifies justice and dignity.

In the captions of the Instagram posts featuring the IWD campaign, Charles & Keith wrote, “The launch of this special iteration of the Alia bag is in support of UN Women’s ‘Storytelling for Gender Equality’ programme.”

It also dedicated an entire post featuring the bag.

Besides Zoe, other women at Charles & Keith were featured as well. 


The brand detailed the specifics behind this special launch on its website.

It said, “20% of all proceeds from this special iteration of the bag will go towards funding the programme.”

The programme aims to create a network of women storytelling advocates around the region to inspire positive social norms and policies to tackle violence.

It also aims to create a safe space for survivors of violence against women to speak up about their experiences.

The brand wrote, “Charles & Keith believes that storytelling is a powerful tool for advocacy as well as promoting equality and positive gender norms.”

“The brand hopes to support the amplification of women’s voices within the Asian-Pacific region through the partnership with non-profit organisation, UN Women.”