Royalty is often associated with wealth, power, security and an insane amount of luck…However, with the ownership of greatly valued objects comes the risk of greater losses.
Claire Mischevani is one of the best known names in the United Kingdom when it comes to fashion. Her clients include some really high profile names, including members of the royal family themselves including the likes Carrie Johnson, The Countess of Wessex and Princess Beatrice. Being a high fashion designer, her pieces are very high valued , generally priced from £1,396.
The robbery took place on Chester Row, Belgravia, late in the night.
Claire and her assistant were returning from a shoot and loading back the clothes that were used in the same back into their car (a Range Rover). They had gone back inside to get the remaining clothes when on hearing the sudden blaring car alarm they ran outside to come face to face with an extremely unpleasant situation.
3 masked robbers dressed in all black were seen taking away all the clothes which were in the Range Rover beforehand and transferring them into a black Volkswagen before rushing off in the same car towards Eaton Terrace. Due to a combination of panic, the masks and the darkness of the night, everything was too hazy and fast paced for the robber’s to be identified.
Care windows had been broken, and 62 pieces in total were taken that night .These included a suitcase, 15 different garment bags of varying sizes and a black overnight bag. The pieces included dresses and coats worth £70000 .
A few of them are attached below:
The damage caused wasn’t just financial.
An event like this would leave any person hugely affected mentally, and the celebrity designer is no exception.
The items stolen had months of work behind them, were handcrafted as a part of her bespoke collection, they meant way more than the monetary value attached to them, most of them were in fact one of a kind.
Stealing an artist’s art is one thing but an incident like this can make any civilian question their own security forever. Having had a very steady experience in her city so far Claire was oblivious to the possibility of something this uncalled for happening.
This one incident however broke that streak. She says that she and her assistant are both traumatized from the incident. Suddenly their safety seems non-existent and they are paranoid wherever they go.Her brand has also suffered a huge set back due to this major loss, being the strong willed soul that she is, she says that now all her energy is just focused on working day in and out to bounce back from this huge loss. This incident also highlights the need for security measures for even the people associated with the Royal Family at a secondary level and not just the direct members, since they are also at very high risk of harm.
An investigation to reunite Claire and her work is still ongoing.
A 23 year old British man was arrested because of his suspected relation to the case but bailed until May. The people of Britain have also been asked for help with pictures of the dresses being spread along with an urge to contact officials immediately if they see something similar.
Most believe that the robbers did not know what was even in the car and just stole it. The fate of the garments remains undecided…they might get discarded as worthless clothing since they might be unaware of its worth or even sold away.
Det Const Palul is leading the investigation and has urged anybody to help out with the case if they can.
