Alright, alright, so we did it; we used the word 'influencer' in a sentence. But it's 2017, and whether you want to admit it or not, people are definitely being influenced by what others are doing on Instagram. Whether it's the photos they take, the clothes they wear, the purposeful insolence of their beautiful, dead-eyed stares, or... you get the picture.

Charting the nu wave of self-aware, self-promoting, style-savvy social media users - ones who have turned an addictive app into money-making empires - we bring you the 10 biggest trend-setters in the modern Instagram-osphere.

Maybe you should follow them.

If you want.

No pressure.

1 | Virgil Abloh - Designer/DJ

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Once Kanye West's personal counsel and go-to style guy, Virgil Abloh has since moved on and up into the high plateaus of 1: being a DJ sometimes at cool parties and, number 2: (and probably more notably) starting Off-White, one of the most impactful streetwear labels in recent memory; his pieces worn by the likes of ASAP Rocky, Rihanna and his pal Kanye. There's also a Nike collaboration in the works and a furniture line with IKEA.

2 | Mister Mort - Style Guy

Like a sort of weird 'normcore' street style, photographer, stylist hybrid. Whatever he actually is, Mister Mort has become a fixture on the NYC style scene and has done more for the resurgence of 'potentially post ironic dad style' (bucket hats, Patagonia, fishing vests) than anyone we can think of. (It didn't take that long).

Also proves that you can do the whole Instagram thing and retain a sense of humour, which is encouraging .

3 | Nakel Smith - Skateboarder

With the ascension and appropriation of streetwear within high fashion circles, the once-grubbily-derided skateboarder has become an unlikely sort of anti-celebrity for the Instagram age. Basically, they're a bit wild, a bit reckless and they don't really give a shit... making them very cool in the eyes of tastemakers. And Nakel Smith is one of the coolest.

With an adidas contract, 200k followers and a glib, slightly disbelieving angle to his captions, Smith is the Supreme-rocking idol of a million and one teenage sk8ers.

4 | Alisdair McLellan - Photographer

While it would be something of a disservice to call British photographer Alisdair McLellan an 'influencer', you'd be hard-pressed to find a more distinctive, influential 'youth culture' photographer working today. He's shot Palace campaigns, Harry Styles, Bieber, Hardy and countless trendy magazine covers, as well as directing videos for The XX.

5 | Gully Guy Leo - Trendy Child

A case in point for just how far posting pictures of yourself online can take a person, Gully Guy Leo is a 14-year-old kid from rural Warwickshire who has, over the course of about a year, become one of the biggest names in streetwear; accruing minor celebrity status and fairly significant influence along the way.

His method is simple: be the first to be pictured in the latest Supreme and or Palace; give it a pithy little caption, a consistent aesthetic and voila, you're the the biggest teenage tastemaker in the country.

If it's so easy, why isn't everyone doing it?

6 | Ronnie Fieg - Designer/Brand Owner

A very modern polymath, Ronnie Fieg is the King Midas of the sneaker world, running a streetwear brand and three of his own bricks-and-mortar stores in New York (both called Kith), as well being the go-to collaborator for Nike, adidas, Asics, Puma, Converse and basically any brand that wants a pair of trainers to become a guaranteed sell-out and talking point.

7 | Blondey McCoy - Skateboarder/Brand Owner/Model/Artist

The high priest of the trendy London skate set, Blondey McCoy's C.V. is pretty incredible considering the fact he's just 20: a professional skateboarder, owner of his own brand, Thames London, a muse for Valentino and the guy you see on every Palace ad (if you look at Palace ads), he also does a bit of art on the side and has a gold tooth.

At first sight, you sort of want to hate him, but delve a little deeper into that feed and you'll see a talented young guy living the dream... which makes us sort of hate him (jk).

8 | Luka Saabat - Professional Fashion Person

A "Stylist-entrepreneur-Champion and model at request", according to his profile, Luka Saabat wears clothes we can only dream of; walks for the likes of D&G and is at the vanguard of Cool Teenagers who make money from being... cool.

Which is cool.

9 | ASAP Nast - Rapper

ASAP Rocky's edgier younger cousin, ASAP Nast does a bit of the rap thing, but has made more of a name for himself by being the fashion-forward, insider alternative to his more mainstream Guess Jeans-collaborating and Kendall Jenner-dating family member.

His feed is a series of fashion shoots, bold clothes, pretty girls and black and white De Niro photos. Ironic captions? Of COURSE there are ironic captions.

10 | Basement Approved - Streetwear Collective

A streetwear collective? Well... yeah, that's what they are, we suppose. Made up of a group of guys and girls who really, really like the kinds of trainers and clothes that you have to queue for, The Basement started life as an invite-only Facebook group for people to discuss the aforementioned trainers and clothes; since expanding into street style photography, parties, meet-ups and a clothing line.

There's also an Instagram account, which is quite handy given the nature of our list.

Headshot of Finlay Renwick
Finlay Renwick
Deputy Style Editor
Mother, blogger, vegan, model, liar