Designer Kathleen Kye divides her time between London, New York and Seoul (kyefashion.com; @kkye)

“Seoul is a dynamic, 24-hour city. It never seems to sleep and you can find something to do day or night. Asians consume fashion; Koreans are obsessed with style and pay lots of attention to celebrity trends. Men’s streetwear brands – such as Leata (leata.net), Hide And Ride (hideandride.co.kr), and thisisneverthat (thisisneverthat.com) – are particularly big news right now.”

Do: “I always send people to Gyeongbokgung Palace, the main royal palace of the Josean dynasty, built in 1395. The surrounding area is just as interesting, with art galleries large and small, including the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (mmca.go.kr).”

Shop: “Shopping is taken very seriously in Seoul and the city has a really well curated list of international luxury labels, as well as local brands. Some of my favourites stores are My Boon (myboon.co.kr), Beaker (beakerstore.com), and QueenMama Market (queenmamamarket.com) – a beautiful foliage-filled concept store that has a great coffee shop on the rooftop. I also love browsing Dongdaemun Market, which is full of some seriously affordable fashion and is open 24 hours a day.”

Eat and Drink: “Nightlife in Seoul is like nowhere else: you can go to a spa at midnight, play retro video games, do karaoke all night long or drink champagne in the super high-end bars of Gangnam. I hang out in Itaewon a lot – Seoul’s ‘hipster’ neighbourhood – and drink soju (a potent local spirit). There are lots of clubs and bars there with great local DJs. I love Seoul’s hip-hop scene so you’ll also find me in clubs like Cakeshop (cakeshopseoul.com), Henz Club or Pistil.”

Stay: “The Park Hyatt Seoul (doubles from £210; seoul.park.hyatt.com) is a favourite with the locals – there’s a great atmosphere in all the bars and it’s in a perfect location
for first-time visitors, right in the centre of things.”

Step out in three of the world’s most stylish cities