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

• leader
• pioneer

Examples of trendsetter in a Sentence

a closely watched trendsetter in women's fashions

Recent Examples on the Web

Many items originally featured in the 1925 Paris showcase, which cemented the French capital’s reputation as the trendsetter for modern decorative arts, though the design movement originated a decade earlier and the term Art Deco wasn’t coined until much later. —Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 20 Oct. 2025

To stand out from the crowd and be a trendsetter, clip on a Hirono or Hacipupu . —Katie Decker-Jacoby, StyleCaster, 16 Oct. 2025

Here, the actress is pictured at the Ralph Lauren SS23 Runway Show in October 2022 in San Marino, California — a nod to her enduring legacy as a style trendsetter with a one-of-a-kind fashion sense. —Kim Hubbard, PEOPLE, 11 Oct. 2025

By starting with focused, high-impact initiatives and scaling with intent, organizations will not just keep pace but become the trendsetters of tomorrow. —Nitesh Mirchandani, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 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