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Peter Som: When Closing a Business Opens Everything Else
Fashion designer Peter Som went from dressing celebrities on red carpets to roasting carrots alone after the Met Gala. When his runway business closed in 2015, he found himself in a Chelsea movie theater at 10am on a Wednesday, wondering how he got there. The answer came in the form of noodles, his grandmother's secret recipe notebook, and a complete reimagining of what success could mean.
In this conversation, Peter shares how cooking became his lifeline during crisis, why "have you eaten?" was never really about food, and what it means to become a beginner again in your 40s. His new cookbook Family Style is a meditation on chosen family, Chinese-American heritage, and the creative confidence that comes from trusting your instincts—whether you're designing clothes or roasting vegetables.
What We Talk About:
Finding his grandmother's hidden 20-year recipe collection and the creative life she lived in secret
The loneliness of closing a fashion business and those 10am movie theater moments
Why the Met Gala carrots mattered more than the red carpet
"Have you eaten?" as a love language in Chinese culture
How latchkey kid afternoons shaped his creative confidence
Knowing he was gay in 5th grade and fashion as a world of freedom
Reinvention as expansion, not abandonment
Why success got quieter as he got older
About Peter Som:
Peter Som is a fashion designer, lifestyle expert, and author of Family Style: Recipes for Connection, Community & Togetherness. His eponymous fashion line dressed everyone from Michelle Obama to First Ladies of fashion, earning him accolades from Vogue and beyond. After his runway business closed, he returned to his roots in food, honoring his grandmother's legacy while building a new creative chapter. He lives in New York City.
Connect with Peter:
Website: PeterSom.com
Instagram: @PeterSom
Buy the Book: Family Style: Recipes for Connection, Community & Togetherness available wherever books are sold
Resources Mentioned:
Family Style cookbook by Peter Som
Met Gala
Chelsea Cinema (now closed)
Connect With Us:
Website: https://www.thenewmaturity.com
Instagram: @thenewmaturity
Newsletter: https://thenewmaturity.substack.com
Email: [email protected]
New episodes drop every other Wednesday. Subscribe now so you never miss a conversation that might just change how you see growing older.
View all episodes
By Heath BrockwellFashion designer Peter Som went from dressing celebrities on red carpets to roasting carrots alone after the Met Gala. When his runway business closed in 2015, he found himself in a Chelsea movie theater at 10am on a Wednesday, wondering how he got there. The answer came in the form of noodles, his grandmother's secret recipe notebook, and a complete reimagining of what success could mean.
In this conversation, Peter shares how cooking became his lifeline during crisis, why "have you eaten?" was never really about food, and what it means to become a beginner again in your 40s. His new cookbook Family Style is a meditation on chosen family, Chinese-American heritage, and the creative confidence that comes from trusting your instincts—whether you're designing clothes or roasting vegetables.
What We Talk About:
Finding his grandmother's hidden 20-year recipe collection and the creative life she lived in secret
The loneliness of closing a fashion business and those 10am movie theater moments
Why the Met Gala carrots mattered more than the red carpet
"Have you eaten?" as a love language in Chinese culture
How latchkey kid afternoons shaped his creative confidence
Knowing he was gay in 5th grade and fashion as a world of freedom
Reinvention as expansion, not abandonment
Why success got quieter as he got older
About Peter Som:
Peter Som is a fashion designer, lifestyle expert, and author of Family Style: Recipes for Connection, Community & Togetherness. His eponymous fashion line dressed everyone from Michelle Obama to First Ladies of fashion, earning him accolades from Vogue and beyond. After his runway business closed, he returned to his roots in food, honoring his grandmother's legacy while building a new creative chapter. He lives in New York City.
Connect with Peter:
Website: PeterSom.com
Instagram: @PeterSom
Buy the Book: Family Style: Recipes for Connection, Community & Togetherness available wherever books are sold
Resources Mentioned:
Family Style cookbook by Peter Som
Met Gala
Chelsea Cinema (now closed)
Connect With Us:
Website: https://www.thenewmaturity.com
Instagram: @thenewmaturity
Newsletter: https://thenewmaturity.substack.com
Email: [email protected]
New episodes drop every other Wednesday. Subscribe now so you never miss a conversation that might just change how you see growing older.