Stellar Magazine is a glossy Irish

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 lifestyle and fashion magazine targeted at female readers in the age group of eighteen to thirty-four. It is part of the VIP publishing franchise of Michael O'Doherty

Michael O'Doherty (publisher)

Michael O'Doherty is a television talent judge, newspaper writer and the publisher of the VIP magazine group in Ireland. He is originally from Killiney in County Dublin, and was educated at Sandford Park School in Dublin and studied English and French at Trinity College, Dublin to undergraduate...

. Stellar was launched on 15 October 2008 as the second of O'Doherty's solo business ventures, following the publication of the teenage-oriented advice magazine Kiss

Kiss (Irish magazine)

Kiss is an Irish magazine aimed at a teenage market containing knowledge about adolescent matters such as fashion advice, confessions, features on teenage cultural icons, relationship advice and problem pages with solutions especially designed for teenage readers. It is part of the VIP publishing...

 which was launched on 31 October 2002. O'Doherty had previously engaged in a number of co-ordinated business ventures in Ireland with his former business partner John Ryan

John Ryan (publisher)

John Ryan is an Irish former publishing tycoon-turned comic actor/writer. He is best known for his publishing empire which included the magazine New York Dog and the website blogorrah.com, he did achieve success with magazines such as VIP with former business partner, Michael O'Doherty...

; Stellar succeeded the co-owned establishments of Magill

Magill

Magill was an Irish politics and current affairs magazine founded by Vincent Browne and others in 1977. Magill was widely perceived as groundbreaking, specialising in in-depth investigative articles and colourful reportage by journalists such as Eamonn McCann and Gene Kerrigan...

 in 1997 and VIP

VIP (magazine)

VIP is both the title of a magazine and a publishing group owned by the Irish publisher Michael O'Doherty. It was launched in 1999, the second of O'Doherty's business ventures with his friend and business partner John Ryan, following Magill and before TV Now...

 in 1999 and preceded later titles such as the unsuccessful New York Dog

New York Dog

New York Dog was an unsuccessful lifestyle magazine for animal lovers based upon women's fashion and lifestyle magazines but instead featuring dogs. It was owned by the publishing empire of John Ryan, now known for his 2009 RTÉ Two comedy television show This is Nightlive, which mimics the antics...

 magazine which was based in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and aimed at the city's animal lovers. Stellars chief rivals are the Irish Tatler and Image

Image (magazine)

Image is an Irish lifestyle and fashion magazine launched in 1975....

.

Launch

The magazine was launched on the night of 16 October 2008 at Krystle nightclub in Dublin despite the downturn in the Irish economy and the complications of slower advertising spending. It was proclaimed by its owner as an alternative to Image and the Irish Tatler. The editor is Susan Vasquez who suggested the magazine would be "kind of like an older version of Kiss". Vasquez is the former editor of the teenage magazine, having helped launch the magazine.

The launch issue of 164 pages included a photo spread of aesthetically-pleasing barmen in Dublin and a male perspective on females who publicly discuss their ex-boyfriends. O'Doherty's target circulation for year one of the magazine is between 12,000 and 15,000.

O'Doherty's criticisms

O'Doherty criticised rival Irish magazines by suggesting that they had transformed into fashion catalogues to feature the latest fashionable shoe, handbag or eyeshadow. He singled out Glow

Glow (magazine)

glow is a Canadian beauty and health magazine founded in 2002 and published by Rogers Communications eight times a year. It offers the inside scoop on health fads and beauty trends and delivers the latest innovations in fitness, nutrition, skin care, health concerns, hair and makeup...

 for particular criticism and suggested that his own magazine was not on the same level as it. O'Doherty suggested U had altered since starting to publish fortnightly, saying that it was far more "tabloidy" and had less substance in its current format. He discuused the similarities with British rivals such as Glamour

Glamour (magazine)

Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. Founded in 1939 in the United States, it was originally called Glamour of Hollywood....

 or Cosmo and said that whilst some of the people featured in Stellar would have previously featured in VIP it would overall be a different publication, more of a "grown-up version of Kiss".

The magazine has since launched its own website which is currently undergoing development.