A stylist’s travel guide to Seoul, the world’s new fashion district

The land of K-pop and K-dramas is the latest Asian destination on the radar of streetwear brands and luxury fashion houses alike, so a travel guide to Seoul seems like a no-brainer to carry when planning a trip. With Asia becoming the next big aim for European luxury giants and the likes of Blackpink and BTS as the ambassadors of the leading brands in fashion, it is no surprise that Gucci and Louis Vuitton decided to hold their Cruise show in 2023. Images by street photographers in Seoul like Kim Tae Kyun aka LessPhoto and Jean Chung will also explain the city’s streetstyle scene. Chung’s streetwear photography during the Seoul Fashion Week is enough to inspire stylists at hand, especially for the nonchalance effect. This brings us to sneaker streetwear store VegNonVeg‘s art director and stylist Naureen Bindra, who takes us through the bylanes of the fashion streets, galleries and adjoining cafés on how to navigate fashion’s new hotspot.

Decoding Korean streetwear

Since streetwear originates from the “streets,” the main influence of the streetwear scene in South Korea seems to be music, art and dance, which connects it deeply to Korean popular culture. As an Indian observer, the Korean fashion scene seems comparatively more evolved, with the audience having already moved on from hype sneakers and the surrounding narrative that is still prevalent in India.

Oversized silhouettes in the form of voluminous outerwear pieces and denim are a common sighting on the streets. To recreate a look you may need a form-fitting tank to use as the foundation of the look. Faded and oversized jeans are an investment piece you can pair with an oversized vintage leather bomber jacket. You can finish off the look with a thin furry scarf or a knit balaclava to complete the “Korean streetwear” style. In terms of shoes and accessories, consider a chunky shoe like black platform UGGs or a pair of platform Doc Martens should do the trick.

For the fashion nerds

The streets of Apgujeong, Seongsu and Hongdae were filled not only with amazing clothing and accessory stores but also with some very interesting art and fashion bookstores. Same Dust in Seongsu was a beautiful store with a great selection of fashion and photography-related books and zines. Paper Muse near Itaewon and Bookstore 17 in Hongdae were fashion magazine and book boutiques — they had everything from books about David Hockney to the latest A magazine curated by Peter Do. The Kinfolk pop-up store in Seongsu had all the recent issues of the magazine on display and available to purchase along with their newly launched scents and hydrating creams.

For the art lovers

The galleries in South Korea definitely should feature on your travel guide to Seoul. The city has some of the most interesting and sleek exteriors and are located in beautiful neighbourhoods. One of the more memorable museums I got a chance to visit was the Leeum Museum of Art in Itaewon which had an exhibition of Suki Seokyeong Kang’s work on display (supported by Bottega Veneta). Pace Seoul, P21 and Gallery SP also featured some very interesting work. I noticed that several museums were closed on Monday, so plan accordingly if you want to visit.

The fashion insider’s shopping guide

Beaker in Seongsu for everything from CrowCanyon bowls and Tekla kitchen towels to Salomon X Maison Margiela sneakers. Heights Korea (B2 level) in the Hyundai Seoul department store for brands like Momental, Open YY and YESEYESEE. The Muninsa store in Hongdae had an amazing selection of some emerging and upcoming brands in Korea. Visual Aid in Hongdae houses brands such as Jaimie Wander and Andersson Bell. Some of my favourite stores in Hongdae and Seoungsu were Uncle Joe, ORMUSEA, Balbal Vintage, LCDC and Market A. In terms of experiential retail I have to recommend Ader Error in Seongsu and the Gentle Monster store in Apgujeong. Both are well worth a visit.

Local designers to know

Kusikohc (a brand by visual artist Cho Gi-Seok), Post Archive Fashion, Pronounce, ESC studio, Minju Kim, Cmmawear, INSILENCE, Fallet, Recode and Marge Sherwood are some of the local brands and labels that caught my eye.

Sneaker spotting

“Since it was very cold when I visited Seoul, I spotted a lot of platform Uggs, interesting loafers and Doc Martens. Although the Korean footwear scene seems to have moved from sneakers to other footwear I did spot quite a few New Balance 1906R, ASICS GT 2150s and Nike Shox. With trends like ballet-core and corp-core on the rise, I also noticed a few Church’s X Miu Miu brushed leather brogues, Martine Rose X Nike shox and Maison Margiela Mary Jane’s.”

On personal style

My mother is an artist which is why growing up I was always surrounded by a lot of colours, shapes and structures. My style is constantly evolving and is an amalgamation of elements taken from different phases of my life. I tend to wear a lot of shirts, ruffles and oversized outerwear which were introduced to my wardrobe during my university years, mixed with grunge tees and sneakers which go back to my teen years.

I work as a stylist in a sneaker store so I tend to wear a lot of sneakers, but I usually gravitate towards the ones that have an interesting shape and structure to them, like the Martine Rose X Nike Shox and the Raf Simons X Adidas chrome Ozweegos. My go-to method is to style formal clothing like shirts, ties and blazers with oversized jeans and structured skirts. I like to mix different fashion idioms, and also different facets of my life — my style is a record of who I am, was, and will be.

All images are courtesy of Naureen Bindra

Buy sneakers here:

Martine Rose X Nike Shox

New Balance 1906R

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I explored Seoul’s nightlife and its vibrant streets without an itinerary

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