Pioneer to follow jacket (11)
I believe the answer is:
trailblazer
'pioneer' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'follow jacket' is the wordplay.
'follow' becomes 'trail' (I've seen this before).
'jacket' becomes 'blazer' (blazer is a kind of jacket**).
'trail'+'blazer'='TRAILBLAZER'
'to' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for trailblazer that I've seen before include "trendsetter" , "Leader in the field" , "Pioneer, innovator" .)