One of the top stylists (11)
I believe the answer is:
hairdresser
'one of' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'top stylists' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'top' could be 'ai' (resembles A1, term for excellent) and 'ai' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'the' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for hairdresser that I've seen before include "cutter?" , "Lock smith?" , "Stylist" , "Coiffeur, coiffeuse" .)