Reincarnation Club
One London-based clothing designer is restyling grief. Sim3Allenkey partners with London funeral director Exit Here to launch Reincarnation Club - a unique service where the clothes of our lost loved ones are given radical new lives.
Sophie Lewis a.k.a. Sim3Allenkey, a London-based clothing designer and maker runs Reincarnation Club at Exit Here, Crouch End. The service, the first of its kind, offers a new way to remember our lost loved ones, through the radical reinvention of their clothes. When families lose a loved one their clothes are left behind. Sometimes these clothes are just too special to give to an anonymous charity shop but are too impractical to wear. That’s where Reincarnation Club can help.
Sophie, creative director & founder, has a life-long love of clothes and a belief in their untapped emotional power. “Clothes tell stories, provide our armour and project our uniqueness. They can help us walk tall and make us feel invincible” says Sophie who despairs of the wear-it-once waste of fast fashion “but we rarely celebrate or value this power. In fact, we often find ourselves fighting to carry off clothes that make us feel awful simply to keep up with fashion. The best clothes are the ones that celebrate us for who we are. And, I have also seen the incredible power clothes can give us in celebrating the lives of departed friends or loved ones”
The idea crystalised following the death of her father-in-law Stephen Lewis in the summer of 2023. After his funeral, Stephen’s wife, Gillie returned to a house full of his clothes. In one wardrobe hung a bright scarlet red tailcoat. It had been the uniform of his golf club captaincy, a very proud moment for the keen golfer. This coat was destined to spend the rest of its life in the wardrobe – too personal and special to give away, yet too old-fashioned to interest the next generation. Sophie offered to radically transform it for Gillie to wear.
“I suggested that it could serve as a fantastic and very personal way to celebrate and remember Stephen” says Sophie “after all, this jacket carries so many happy memories.’
The result is a daring, close-fitted box jacket with raised shoulders and puff sleeves which Gillie loves and now wears out to parties. “My friends all love it. They all comment and say how much Stephen would have loved it too” says Gillie, “it’s the most wonderful way to celebrate him.”
Sophie contacted Exit Here soon after they opened their Crouch End branch. She was struck by their refreshing, life-affirming approach to funerals. She contacted founder, Oliver, who immediately embraced the idea as a novel, alternative yet positive way in which people could come to terms with their grief.
Sophie is anxious to stress that this isn’t about simply adjusting a waist or repairing a hem. “This is about creating something brand new that feels amazing to wear and is deeply personal”.
Sophie and Exit Here simply invite people to come in, bring with them clothing that they might have inherited and, in talking, find ways in which this clothing could find new life and in doing so, celebrate the life of their loved ones.
To see more of Sophie’s work check out her website
If you want to talk to us about an item of clothing you want to give a new lease of life, email info@exithere.com or call 0208 050 2100. The next Reincarnation Club dates for 2025 will be announced soon…