trendsetter

noun

trend·​set·​ter ˈtren(d)-ˌse-tər 

variants or less commonly trend-setter

plural trendsetters also trend-setters

: one that sets a trend : someone or something that starts or helps to popularize a new fashion, style, movement, etc.

a trendsetter in the fashion industry

Every ten years or so, for a different set of reasons each time, cultural trendsetters rally behind one musician with whom they sense a bond and who then comes to symbolize jazz to the mass media.

—Francis Davis

The county has become a trendsetter in other types of environmental legislation …

—Chemical & Engineering News

Synonyms of trendsetter

• leader
• pioneer

Examples of trendsetter in a Sentence

a closely watched trendsetter in women's fashions

Recent Examples on the Web

Ever the trendsetter, Zoë Kravitz was an early adopter of the look, spotted in an especially baggy silhouette last April; Kate Hudson, on the other hand, is one of the latest stars to cosign the brown denim trend, wearing it last month in an Instagram reel. —Kelsey Stewart, Glamour, 25 Nov. 2025

Just elusive, eclectic and enigmatic action, comedy, sci-fi, horror and thriller films and series from the vanguard of new wave of indie trendsetters and rule breakers. —Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 17 Nov. 2025

The exception was when her makeup artist Lorrie Turk spilled the trendsetter's favorite lipsticks last fall. —Michelle Lee, PEOPLE, 14 Nov. 2025

Aside from Larsson, other trendsetters are joining in on the trend, attaching chains, keychains and other baubles to their jeans. —Andre Claudio, Sourcing Journal, 31 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1936, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for trendsetter

• abettor
• newsletter
• typesetter
• better
• bettor
• debtor
• fetter
• getter
• letter
• netter
• petar
• petter