trendsetters
Fashion's first movers
Trendsetters are people who establish new fashions, styles, or ideas that others then follow.
The term implies influence—trendsetters don't just adopt what's new, they originate or popularize it: Silicon Valley trendsetters shaped how we think about casual workwear.
The word often appears in fashion, technology, and cultural commentary.
Those shaping popular preferences
- influencersPeople with online sway
- mavensTrusted subject authorities
- cloutInformal power or punch
- swayRock back and forth
impact · authority · persuasion · credibility · prestige · charisma · endorsement · admiration
First to explore territory
- visionariesThose who anticipate change
- trailblazersThose who open territory
- groundbreakersInnovators who start trends
- disruptorsThose who destabilize systems
game-changers · mavericks · originators · creators · inventors · revolutionaries · architects · masterminds
tastemakers
Those shaping popular preferences
- influencersPeople with online sway
- mavensTrusted subject authorities
- cloutInformal power or punch
sway · impact · authority · persuasion · credibility · prestige · charisma · endorsement · admiration · following
pioneers
First to explore territory
- visionariesThose who anticipate change
- trailblazersThose who open territory
- groundbreakersInnovators who start trends
disruptors · game-changers · mavericks · originators · creators · inventors · revolutionaries · architects · masterminds · founders
runway
Paved path for planes
avant-garde · sartorial · couturier · bespoke · boutique · glamour · ensemble · silhouette · lookbook · tailoring
- fashion industryfashion, fashion design, fashion designers, fashion shows, fashion week
- fashion worldcouturiers, gowns, designers, dresses, fashion icons
- fashion stylescasual wear, bohemian, formal wear, preppy, romantic
- trailblazerstrailblazers, pioneers, innovators, groundbreakers, forerunners
- trendsfad, craze, rage, fads, crazes
- trendsettersinfluencer, fashionistas, style icons, tastemaker, trailblazer
trendsettersfollowers
People who support someone
imitators · copycats · conformists · sheep · lemmings
trendsetterslaggards
Those who trail behind
latecomers · stragglers · Johnny-come-latelies · dinosaurs · fossils
trendsettersconformists
Those obeying social norms
conventionalists · squares · the herd · ordinary people · plodders