S: (n) avant-garde, vanguard, van, new wave (any creative group active in the innovation and application of new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts))
S: (n) vanguard, forefront, cutting edge (the position of greatest importance or advancement; the leading position in any movement or field) "the Cotswolds were once at the forefront of woollen manufacturing in England"; "the idea of motion was always to the forefront of his mind and central to his philosophy"