It’s not just about the clothes at the men’s collections. Here are the tracks (Kraftwerk, anyone?) that caught our attention….

At the spring 2016 menswear shows this June, music was very much in the air. First of all there were the musicians themselves, an increasingly familiar sight at this kind of thing. At Moschino in Florence, we saw A$AP Rocky (who name-checked us on his recent record At.Long.Last.A$AP), Super 8 camera in hand, enjoying his view from the front row aside Ms Katy Perry. At Saint Laurent in Paris, surprise attendees included not just Mr Lenny Kravitz, but also Mr Liam Gallagher. And during Burberry, Mr Christopher Bailey – whose ear for music is as discerning as his eye for style – accompanied his collection with a performance by Rhodes, who, plucked from obscurity by the Burberry boss, can now set his compass for the same chart peaks reached by label favourite Mr George Ezra last October.

Such appearances offer a mere snapshot of music’s influence on the shows this year. And that’s before we come to the soundtracks, the songs picked by the designers and their consultants as the perfect accompaniment to their prized pieces. Having instagrammed the first looks, the croissants and the street style peacocks, we now turn to more auditory media and present a Spotify playlist of everything we heard in London, Milan and Paris. Read about our favourites below.

With a strong following in the hip-hop and rap world, Mr Neil Barrett might have surprised some with his SS/16 show – not least the singer Miguel, who was on the front row in Milan. Ignoring his usual tropes, bombers and military garb for example, Mr Barrett looked forward with, in his words, “Decorative patterns of male dress across the globe, fusing Western and Eastern references…” The pounding opener to Jamie XX’s In Colour – itself a melting pot of different sounds and cultural influences – was a fine choice.

Showing your collection with a track from Inherent Vice – the coolest, and most stylish film of the year so far, won’t do much harm – especially if it is as well-conceived as Mr Paul Thomas Anderson’s surreal exploration of late-1960s paranoia. Marni’s collection used bold colours, experimented with proportions and had an unmistakable retro feel. Not unlike the film, then.

Reading the inspiration for this show (“itinerant man’s emotional metamorphosis as he journeys through the exhilarating country of India”) put us in mind of another track by underground jazz legend Mr Dave Pike, “Big Schlepp”. But “Mathar” – Indian-influenced, with driving sitar and a groovy beat – echoed Missoni’s Madras check, Jodhpur blues and Gujarati weaves wonderfully.

We spoke to Mr David Rhodes a few days after he played Mr Christopher Bailey’s show, and we can report that he is a thoroughly nice chap. We wish him well for his debut album, due September. Having watched him and a 24-piece orchestra provide such an elegant accompaniment to Burberry’s dandy-influenced collection, however, we doubt he’ll need our support.

The all-female string quartet covering Kraftwerk was the subject of many a social-media post at Oliver Spencer, whose Harmonious Discord collection – inspired by minimalist sculptor Mr Richard Serra – offered subtly sophisticated, softly structured pieces as relaxed as the music. A striking floral shirt and trousers ensemble ensured the band didn’t grab all the attention.

Sir Hardy Amies’ suit designs for Mr Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey provided creative director Mr Mehmet Ali with apt inspiration for this space-travel influenced show. Although he held onto the brand’s iconic Savile Row traditions: materials such as navy parachute silk, ballistic nylon and laser-cut translucent panels created a futuristic feel, only intensified by the space-age sound of Mr James Blake’s “Retrograde” as well as Mr David Bowie and his Spiders From Mars.

Another string quartet, an LA group who riff on rock’n’roll classics, greeted us at Valentino in Paris. Their Nirvana covers added urgency to what was a super-casual, utterly wearable collection. We liked the relaxed blue jeans, grungy jumpers and denim jackets (and so might have Mr Kurt Cobain).

Heavily influenced by Sir Paul McCartney and Mr John Lennon, it was almost impossible not to like Mr Jesso’s album of perfect pop melodies released three months ago. Typically gentle, “The Wait” contrasted with Mr Phillip Lim’s bold, American sportswear-inspired collection, yet the combination somehow worked. But forget all that, how do we get our hands on that burgundy/ navy blue-striped suit?

With the name alone, this track from Chicago producer Dawn Golden (not to be confused with the one-man black metal project Golden Dawn) was a fitting choice for Kolor. Far from, say, the tie-dye pieces we saw last season, the Japanese brand stuck mainly to military greens, dark blues and browns in its sophisticated yet utilitarian collection.