In 2011 and again in 2018, Chloe Savage had the honour of working on the wedding dresses of Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle. But the embroiderer is now totally ruined.
Her hands helped create two iconic dresses. In 2011 and again in 2018, embroiderer Chloe Savage had the chance and honor to help create the wedding dresses of Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle. Called by the Royal School of Needlework, this Bristol-born woman helped make the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding gown and was one of the first to know the date of the royal wedding.
Seven years later, she was again commissioned to sew the majestic veil that Meghan Markle donned to marry Prince Harry. This Englishwoman also worked on the costumes worn by the actors of the Harry Potter saga. Prestigious collaborations that have honored her. And yet, today, Chloe Savage is ruined. She explains “that her application for universal credit was rejected four times” during the coronavirus pandemic.
Chloe Savage, who was forced to close her workshop in the city of Bristol, is reportedly on the verge of losing her house. She received no financial support during the coronavirus pandemic. The 43-year-old Briton explained that she had had to lay off apprentices and was now struggling to make ends meet and feed her children.
“My daughter has started to avoid eating lunch and dinner because she thinks it will save me money on the food bill,” the embroiderer said, on the verge of tears. Since her business, Chloe Savage Embroidery, is not making any money for her at the moment, she has not been able to earn a salary and says she has only one month’s rent in advance. A terrible situation, which many self-employed workers are now facing, which the British government has “not helped enough”.
“Why is the government persecuting small business owners,” asked Chloe Savage, one of the three million Britons who have received no funding since the start of the health crisis. He continues to say that we are the backbone of the recovery, but we won’t be back to work in a few months.”
The embroiderer now works in her mother’s garage after being forced to close her Bristol workshop. Chloe Savage said she was “sorry” about the impact this had on her teenage daughter and eight-year-old son.
She explained that she spent half of her time crying and that her father had been forced to sell his car. “It is disappointing that in an expenditure review so focused on fighting unemployment, there is nothing to support the self-employed,” said Andy Chamberlain, policy director at the Association of Independent Professionals and Self-Employed. Yet they are the ones who have driven up employment levels over the past decade.”
Photos credit: Agence Getty Image/ WireImage