1. Podium, Moscow

by Julia Robson

This is where super wealthy Eastern Euro hotties flock to hoover up exorbitantly priced clothes and bling accessories to keep up with the Joneskis. Podium opened in 2005 and within a short space of time has kicked rivals like James, a shop which incorporates a catwalk on its first floor and Gum in Red Square, into touch. Located in a city which boasts more billionaires than any other globally, Podium houses a staggering line-up of international brands from Balenciaga to homegrown talent like Alena Akhmadullina, one of the rising stars of the prêt-à-porter schedule in Paris.

Kuznetsy Most, Moscow, Russia; podiumfashion.com

2. Boutique 1, Dubai

Move over Manhattan, say ‘hi\' to Dubai. Perched at the top of the glossy Jumeirah Emirates Towers, a 140,000 sq ft shopping mall devoted to exclusively luxury goods. The jewel in it\'s crown is Boutique 1 which has become a one-stop shop for wealthy holidaying Saudis and Russians, as well as fashionistas passing through Dubai on business. A combination of luxurious spacious marble interior, chill-out soundtrack and an exclusive mélange of names and rare pieces (such as Linda Farrow sunglasses featuring real diamonds) sets this 10,000 sq ft shop apart from its rivals. Here, you\'ll find things you won\'t find elsewhere (nowhere else can afford them!). Which is why it\'s the choice of the sheiks and even boasts its own glossy magazine with a 15,000 readership.

Boulevard at Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Sheikh Zayeed Road, Dubai, UAE; Tel +971 4 330 4555; boutique1.com

3. Villa Moda, Kuwait

This spectacular 100,000 sq ft glass-cube emporium overlooking the Persian Gulf boasts an interior divided into fashion \"aquariums\" housing big fish designer labels. The scale of design demonstrates just how seriously Kuwaitis - the fourth richest nation in the world - take their fashion. Boosted by an unlikely location, nestling in an unused dockland area on the outskirts of Kuwait City, rather than the usual mall, adds to its destination boutique status. This is the jewel in the crown of Sheikh Majed Al-Sabah, the 37-year-old founder of the Villa Moda network of boutiques which next year will branch into Damascus, Jordan, Bahrain, Dubai and London (in Battersea Power Station). Al-Sabah is also building the world\'s first fashion ‘island\' rumoured to be in Dubai. Watch this space.

Kuwait Free Trade Zone, Shuwaikh Port, Kuwait; Tel + 965 482 7004; villa-moda.com

4. Dover Street Market, London

Bare walls, steel beams and six floors of purist high fashion displayed in a wacky way in collaboration with the designers themselves, such as Raf Simons, Alber Elbaz and Junya Watanabe. What else might you expect from the intellectual Japanese design guru, Rei Kawakubo, who was behind the concept and direction of this über modern retail space? The Comme des Garcons designer could have put this anywhere but New York lost out to lucky old London. (And hip Hoxton to stuffy Mayfair?). Spacious, stark, pretentious and arty, come here to ogle weird but wonderful designer clothes and art-meets-fashion installations, sniff the latest Comme fragrance, buy a limited edition fashion piece or simply people-watch.

17-18 Dover Street, London W1; Tel: 020 7518 0680; doverstreetmarket.com

5. Restir, Midtown Tokyo

Hiroaki Takashita threw down the gauntlet to his rivals within the $167 billion luxury goods industry when he founded his first Restir boutique in Kobe, Japan in 2000. When it came to his third store in newly developing midtown Tokyo, coming up with the same old same old wasn\'t an option. Where to start with the ‘wow\' factor here? Futuristic 30-ft walls of LED plasma displaying adverts for art installations in the 1st floor gallery, black marble floors, black and burgundy interiors designed by French architect Laur Meyrieux, concierge desk, and mega brand pieces from Marc Jacobs, Balenciaga, McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent and a range of Chanel bags that are unique to this store. NB. This is only the second boutique outside Chanel\'s own stores Karl Lagerfeld has bestowed this honour upon.

1F Galleria, Tokyo Midtown, 9-7-4 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo; Tel: (03) 5413-3708; restir.com

6. Jeffrey, New York

Clothes shopping in the Big Apple throws up a dilemma. Pushed for time which of the enormous department stores do you visit? None. Hop in a taxi to 10th Avenue and witness Manhattan\'s new fashion wonderland, the semi-industrial meatpacking district. This is home to Jeffrey, an outpost of an Atlanta mega boutique. Jeffrey NY attracts the Barney\'s crowd and features heavily in Gossip Girl, the cult US TV series that revolves around the lives of super-rich, fashion-obsessed kids. Famous for having the best selection of shoes in Manhattan - no mean feat - it also carries a precisely bought delectable smorgasbord of international and American names. As the locals say, \"frikkin gorgeous.\"

449 W 14th St, New York, NY 10014, USA; Tel: +1 212 206 3928; jeffreynewyork.com

7. Maxfield, Los Angeles

This trendy West Hollywood boutique, just west of Robertson, carries high fashion labels considered ‘avant-garde\' in this low-key city. The shop reflects the Californian wrinkly \"rocker\" style of its legendary owner, Tommy Perse (father to T-shirt designer, James), a Keith Richards-esque type with grey shoulder-length hair, jangling Chrome Hearts bracelets, diamond skull necklace and lace-up crotch jester pants. Wait. Don\'t be put off. As well as hip labels like Gareth Pugh, Margiela, Thomas Wylde and Rick Owens, you\'ll find vintage Hermes Birkin bags, museum piece Native American accessories and Japanese biker jackets. The minimalist concrete façade and interesting (single) window display attracts both stylists and stars. Why Winona Ryder decided to shoplift at Saks Beverly Hills and not here beats us. This is way more interesting than any glossy boutique on Rodeo Drive or Wilshire Boulevard.

8825 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90069-5603; Tel: 310 274 8800

8. Joyce, Hong Kong

This destination boutique became the prototype for super-cool multi-brand international designer boutiques back in the 1970s when it first opened. Founded by the legendary Joyce (Mrs) Ma, the woman responsible for putting Azzedine Alaia, Giorgio Armani, Dries van Noten, Donna Karan and many more on the global fashion map, she is still considered one of the best buyers in the business and way ahead of rivals. At Joyce you\'ll find whoever is the next big fashion star as well as plenty of the flavours of the season. Mrs Ma originally opened Joyce to introduce wealthy Hong Kong ladies to European designers whom she was convinced would love them. They did. Then she did the same for (gulp) Taiwan and China...

18 Queen\'s Road, Central, Central District; Tel: 852 2810 1120; joyce.com

9. 10 Corso Como, Milan

This 13,000 sq ft shop combines art space, bookstore, antique homewear section, groovy restaurant as well as crucial fashion items of the season. Founder, Carla Sozzani was inspired by oriental bazaars and 1970s London boutique, Biba for her shop. Carla\'s look-alike sister, Franca, is editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia which is why a lot of trends you see in the revered mag you can also find at 10 Corso Como. Crucially chic with whitewashed walls and a rustic central courtyard cut off from the crazy Milanese traffic, this becomes a haven of tranquillity during Milan fashion week. A ploy to lure fashionistas away from rival boutiques on Via Montenapoleone perhaps?

Corso Como, 10; Milan, 20154, Italy; tel: +39 229 002674; no website yet!

10. Colette, Paris

In its heyday this was the fashion destination boutique of Europe. It’s still worth hopping on Eurostar for a visit because of its faultless track record of punchy art/fashion collaborations and weird luxury gizmos. If something’s here – shoes, frocks, beauty gunk, limited edition iPhone or rare Japanese style magazine – it rocks. During the French prêt-à-porter season, this is first port of call for fashion editors seeking a quick fashion fix (after ‘un coup de champagne’ at Hotel Costes, natch). Its location is faultless, sandwiched between flagship designer boutiques from Louis Vuitton to Dior, it remains a concisely edited one-stop shop for beautiful, unusual and expensive designer items.

213 Rue St Honore, Paris 1; tel: +331 55 35 33 90; colette.fr