At every fashion week, there's a cool crowd –  a gang of front-row guests and party VIPs who look like they're having the time of their lives. At London Collections: Men this week, that group at each show or event was some variation of the following: Tinie Tempah, David Gandy, Reggie Yates, Nick Grimshaw, Samuel L Jackson and Wretch 32. It was a noticeably different scene to London Fashion Week – where the front row tends to be almost exclusively white – and it was packed with stylish men from the music industry.

On the catwalk it was the same story: Agi & Sam didn't use a single white model in their show on Wednesday, and across the board, casting seemed more varied than at the womenswear shows. But the differences went beyond the catwalk: the entire social scene this week had more diversity, a stronger presence from the world of music, and dare we say it – a fresher, younger feel than the equivalent for womenswear.

Over the past four seasons, the British Fashion Council's Menswear Committee has appointed four ambassadors: Dermot O'Leary, Gandy, Tempah and Grimshaw. The last two in particular – with Tempah's rap career and Grimshaw's Radio 1 show – speak to a young, streetwise demographic. It may be down to their influence that we're seeing rappers like Wretch 32 and Zebra Katz appearing at menswear shows and parties.

Designer Katie Eary believes the credit lies with the organisers: 'Dylan Jones [chair of the British Fashion Council's Menswear Committee] knows absolutely everybody. He's been pulling in the right people and organising amazing dinners and parties  – he's made London Collections a cool thing to be involved in. And when other Radio 1 presenters see Nick Grimshaw there, they'll want to go next season. Who wouldn't want to be involved with that?'

The cooler crowd that the ambassadors attract is good news for British menswear designers like Eary, for whom hiphop is a major influence. 'If I Instagram a picture from my collection, it might go out to 4000 kids. If Nick Grimshaw does it, it hits a much, much wider audience. Having these people at my shows definitely helps my brand – not one interview goes by where I don't get asked which celebrities wear my clothes.'​

And while in womenswear, fashion and music are friendly, in menswear they're inextricably linked. 'You're seeing more and more people from the music industry at the shows,' says Eary. 'Menswear has become so bold in the last three years, and it's a way for musicians to express themselves. Now Kanye wears a leather kilt and the whole world goes crazy about it.' Men look to musicians and rappers for style inspiration in the same way that women admire models and stylists.

The UK's menswear week is, without a doubt, carving its niche in the fashion calendar. For macaroons and glamorous peacocks, go to London Fashion Week. For a crowd that more accurately reflects Britain's diverse, buzzing street culture, go to London Collections: Men.