Peter Som launches buzzy new cookbook

So is the nature of fashion that brands and designers come and go from the market. Just because a brand or a designer isn’t a regular fixture on the fashion week circuit is no indication that their creative days are behind them. It’s generally farther from the truth.

After his superstar designer turn in the 90’s, Isaac Mizrahi not only went to sell his label to Xcel Brands in 2011 after pivoting to a collection sold on QVC, but he launched a career in entertainment, appearing in plays and performing at spots such as Bemelmans Bar in New York City.

Another 1990’s-era designer, Todd Oldham, pivoted to hotel design, book publishing, and philanthropy. He even got into the sustainability movement by launching his Todd Oldham Maker Shop offerings using remnants from his brand archives. Tom Ford and Anthony Vaccarello have turned to film to express their creativity further. Platforms like Instagram allowed Jason Wu and Peter Som to explore their cooking creations. In the latter’s case, it has propelled Som into another spear of lifestyle creative, which has led to brand partnerships in the food and entertaining space and the release of his first cookbook.

FashionNetwork.com spoke with Som about the new tome that was released this week.

Anyone following Som on Instagram has gotten a teaser of what the designer has been up to in the kitchen. For Som, the pivot in focus had a deeper meaning than solving what’s for dinner.

“Over a few years, I realized I wanted to honor my grandmother and my mom’s stories through food. Cooking has always been a huge part of my life—during my runway collection years; it’s what kept my feet on the ground in a topsy-turvy industry—and over the years, it has become so important to who I am and what I love to do. I mean, food, for me, is joy,” Som said, adding, “I was very close to my grandmother growing up—she lived in San Francisco, and I grew up just across the Golden Gate Bridge in Mill Valley—so I saw her all the time—and much of my memories of her were helping her in the kitchen—her love of food and feeding people was definitely imprinted on me from a very young age.”

Expressing this to his audience was natural for Som, who engaged in today’s communication vehicle du jour, social media. “It’s the world we live in, isn’t it? Sharing what I’ve made in the kitchen was pretty natural—I’m a visual person, so now and then, I’d post something I’d made because I liked how it looked—the colors, the form; that’s how it started,” he recalled.

Here, viewers can find his recipes, such as Five Spice Roasted Chicken (another Five Spice recipe reimagines pumpkin pie); Seriously Fast Creamy Miso Pasta; reimagined Deviled Egg recipes; and Carrots with Gochujang Honey Butter, which the designer made post his first Met Gala.

Som encourages his audience to DM him for tips and a recipe. Many of these recipes first debuted among Som’s friends, primarily from creative fashion backgrounds.

He is also clear that it has allowed him to exercise his creative muscle.

“It’s absolutely a form of creativity. I’ve found—interestingly– that the approach to creating a recipe is quite similar to designing a garment. The fundamentals and techniques are obviously different—but in both cases, you’re dreaming up something within a certain framework. They say you eat with your eyes—like seeing a great sweater or dress in a shop window—a balance of color and proportion—something familiar mixed with something unexpected. And just like that sweater has to fit amazing and feel great—so too does a dish have to taste delicious and be packed with flavor,” he surmises, adding that applying his design proclivities to another medium was natural. “I’d like to think that creativity has no limits. Having that creative spark is the key to taking inspiration into reality—whether designing a collection or testing a recipe.”

However, Som admits that one lasts longer than the other, wildly if the recipe succeeds: “Food is ephemeral- it’s created, eaten, and then gone! So, you’re capturing a moment in time—and you have to start from zero each time you want to have that dish. There’s something very elemental about it. There’s a definite beginning, middle, and end. Creating clothes involves more hands—many people touch each garment along the way. The creative part of things feels somewhat similar at its core, but its execution is very different. I love both!”

Som is still actively designing garments. He has had a successful collaboration producing a collection for Rent the Runway and has further yet-to-be-disclosed design projects on the horizon. The recipes and cookbooks have also led to partnerships with Uber Eats, Califia Farms, Mounts Veeder Winery, All-Clad cookware, and several neighborhood businesses.

Som will also engage in a bevy of book promotion-related events. “The avenues to explore how to do business in fashion are much broader now—and it’s very exciting,” he concluded.