When Nick Wakeman Met Rose Chalalai Singh

Studio Nicholson’s Creative Director Nick Wakeman and chef Rose Chalalai Singh on freedom, the power of mistakes and powerful friends

By Bonnie Langedijk

If there’s one thing designer Nick Wakeman and chef Rose Chalalai Singh have in common, it’s their ability to make the ordinary remarkable. The way they craft products and plates of excellence with a casual spirit, is what makes both women so exceptionally cool. The Studio Nicholson founder’s range of  best-in-class clothes – inspired by Japanese architecture, interiors, grunge music, 1990s sub-culture and geological landscapes – are the kind you can actually live your life in, while the Paris-based chef creates playful experiences through delicious food for some of the most renowned galleries, artists and fashion brands including Gagosian, Acne Studios and Thaddaeus Ropac alongside running her restaurant Rose Kitchen. Over a video call on a Monday morning, Wakeman and Singh caught up on life, their careers and plans for the weekend. No filter.

HURS: Do you have a support network or sounding board you rely on? And is it people that are working in the same industry? As I think you both don’t really fit into that box of being part of the singular ecosystem of fashion or food. 

Nick: My friends are in the same industry, but we never talk about work. My best mate is a pop star, my other best mate is a makeup artist. I think the best thing to do is surround yourself with people with really solid feet on the ground. Always. And girlfriends. I love my girlfriends.
Rose: Me too. Most of my friends are girls. I love powerful women. Like Michèle Lamy, she’s 80. Two nights ago, she texted me at midnight: ‘Hello darling, I miss you. Do you want to go see Bob Wilson? We go on Wednesday night and come back on Thursday.’ The relationship Michèle and I have is very interesting. We’re really close, we have a complicity where she looks after me and I look after her and the Rick Owens staff by preparing meals for them during shows or after parties. Usually I know whether a project is the right one, but when I’m unsure, I call Michèle for a second opinion. Her advice is abstract, sharp and short. We understand each other in a deeper way. Without telling me what to do, she gives me the confidence and security to say no to the things that aren’t right for me. I love that about her. 

Nick: She does have 80 years of experience. We live in a world now where people don't really reach out that much. I think your true friends do. I knew my friend was really knackered on Saturday, so I booked an infrared sauna and cryotherapy and stuff like that. It’s nice to think about what your friend might need.

Rose: I have two people I reach out to for advice Nadège Vanhee from Hermès, who’s the bomb. I can go on and on and on, and she’ll say: ‘Okay Rose, how long do you need to make up your mind? What’s going on?’ And then I have Margot [Henderson], who is also very interesting. We had dinner at St. John when I arrived and I said: ‘Margot, I’m so bored with my food.’ And she said: ‘Me too. We should cook more together.’ And then I asked if I could come and cook at Rochelle Canteen on Sunday, and that’s what we’re doing. It’s those people who elevate you.

“Most of my friends are girls. I love POWERFUL women.”

Nick: I know that feeling too Rose, of being bored. I think it’s important to make mistakes. Mistakes are great. Obviously I bumped into you at Narukiyo [a restaurant in Tokyo], and I've got a massive soft spot for Narukiyo. I've been going for 12 years. I know that you do a lot of cooking for shows and fashion people. And Narukiyo did all the catering for Rei Kawakubo and Yohji, I think in the eighties. The reason I go there is only for his asparagus and his tomatoes. 

Rose: It's so good. I like his spirit. Sometimes it's so good and sometimes it's not good at all. He’s from the Southern Islands [of Japan], and they have their way of marinating the fish. He's really good with fish. I ate a lot of his marinated sardines, just with rice. But to be honest with you, I really don't like restaurants. It's not my thing. I prefer eating at a friend's house. I find restaurants very touristy.

Nick: They are. And they're very formal, that's the other thing.

HURS: How would you describe how you work? Is it messy or structured? Intuitive or planned? I think you might be on opposite sides of the spectrum.

Rose: My job is very simple. I buy things, bring them to the kitchen or venue and I cook. That’s what I do in my kitchen when I host a private dinner or when I have a client come in. Sometimes I see things and that makes me want to cook something, or I have already planned it out but sometimes I have no idea. It’s hard when you get bored. I have to go round and round until I find that one thing, a starting place and then I start to cook. For a few months I had this incredible sous chef and he did everything. I got so lazy. Instead of going to the market, I would text him a list of what to get. At one point I realized it didn’t elevate me at all. I just came in for two hours, plates the dishes and tasted them. I think it’s very important to go back to basics when you’re a bit lost. That’s why I’m so excited to cook at Rochelle Canteen this Sunday. I don’t have to think about the full operation. I don't have to take care of what the table looks like, where the flowers are going to be, or how many people are coming. It's not my job. I’m just cooking. I think that’s something I have to do more of. The other part of my business is the catering company, where we cook for events. You create the concept, and think about who is going to play what role. Who is going to be the bartender, who is going to be with me in the kitchen? What’s the table going to look like? What’s the food going to look like? I just did the 20 years of T Magazine party, and all I did was come up with the concept about mixing Italian and Thai food. The catering company did everything else. But I couldn’t do the whole thing by myself. That would’ve been amazing, but it’s impossible.

Nick: It's just interesting, isn't it? The more successful you get, the less you have to do. You feel a bit useless actually.

Rose: Yes. People around you tell you how great it all is, and all I can think is, but I haven't done anything.

Nick: I didn't chop those onions.

Rose: Exactly. 

Nick: As a control freak, that's a constant struggle of mine. I want to be involved in everything, but I can't. Signing things off or being involved in certain bits, it's just too much. What brings me the most joy is being involved. I've worked out, being involved at the beginning of everything is the most sensible answer I can have for myself. I sign off all the fabrics, do all the mood boards, brief everybody. And then I know that if it goes wrong at the end, it's my fault. I have to be there at the beginning. The recipe is already written in a way.

Rose: It's not easy when you are successful, because you have to be everywhere. Especially when you’re independent and you don’t have an investor or are part of a larger group. But I love the freedom that comes with being independent. People often ask me what is freedom to you? For me, freedom is something that nobody can take away from you.   

Nick: It's also about not giving a fuck, I think.

Rose: And then of course, like you said, we need to make mistakes. 

Nick: We have a lot of fun along the way. Otherwise there's no point for me. We're only making clothes here. We're not working for the UN. I have to be accountable for my energy and what I'm putting into the work. [My team] are all here loving it and believing in it. if I look like I don't believe in it, then they're all questioning themselves. I believe the energy around you will permeate the end products. It’s all there in the clothes for me.

Rose: Even when I might want to be in bed and pull the blankets over my head, when a job comes in I have to cook and put everything in it. They’ll feel that energy in the food. 

Nick: It can be exhausting giving everything and being creative. You are also sensitive. Sometimes that can be quite difficult. I'm super practical. Jodie [Barnes] said the funniest thing he ever saw was me on a shoot, and all I was doing was running around with an ironing board under my arm. I like being hands on. It's not necessarily all about how it looks. Clothing is about how it makes you feel. I think that's the same with food. It might not be the taste. It's about whether you feel different and what it evokes in you.

Rose: As a chef, and working in this industry, you’re never satisfied. You might be for five or ten minutes, or one night, but then it’s about what’s next. Sometimes after creating an incredible evening, I come home, sit in my house and have a whiskey on the rocks and a cigarette and just savor it. The next day that feeling has passed, and I’m onto what’s next or what I could’ve done better. 

Nick: I had the same conversation with a photographer last week. I think we'll always have that. But it’s also why you get up in the morning and go again. If we were all super satisfied with ourselves and feeling like we did a really good job, what's the point?

Rose: Then you're done. It's very important that you are not always satisfied. The creativity comes from that feeling of dissatisfaction or feeling unfulfilled.

Nick: The constant feeling of trying to perfect something is a great feeling for me. I'm constantly trying to perfect, but I like imperfections at the same time. An imperfection can be perfect for me.

Rose: Sometimes accidents are great, huh?

Nick: I love accidents.

Rose: I think we like to seduce other people, especially in my job. I have to follow certain rules. But the most important thing for me is to seduce yourself first. Ask yourself: What do you need? What do you like? And to create from there. If I make a sausage, if I put this spice in it, what is it going to be like? Playing with your imagination. That’s the fun stuff. 

Nick: If you are not excited about it. How do you expect other people to be excited about it? While you’re in town, have you got some time off?

Rose: Yes, but I will cook at Rochelle Canteen, which is so fun. I love it. I love Margot.

Nick: I love them. Margot wears a lot of our clothes, actually.

Rose: I know. She told me. I told her that I was going to see you today. Are you in London on Sunday?

Nick: Yeah, I am.

Rose: Come to Rochelle Canteen. It will be fun.

Nick: I'm going to the car dealer on Sunday, but I'll pop down. What time are you there from Rose?

Rose: I'm there from nine to I think, uh, five, you know? You know how there, it's gonna be Fergus drinking and food all day long. It will be fun.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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