Stel·lar [Stel-er] adjective 1. Of or pertaining to the stars; consisting of stars. 2. Like a star, as in brilliance, shape, etc. 3. Pertaining to a preeminent performer, athlete, etc.

Issue five of Modern Matter magazine is dedicated to all things stellar: this is a homonym for its cover star, Stella, but is also a word to describe her. Stella Tennant – iconic, playful, a born performer, and above all, independent – embodies the interior and the ethos of Modern Matter magazine, in its first truly unisex issue.

A strong commercial prospect, despite resembling nothing and nobody else on the market, Tennant represents an intersection of the popular and the artistic, or the alternative; the masculine and the feminine; the British and the international. Photographed for Modern Matter by MARK BORTHWICK.