Opposite : Jenna at the first ( but definitely not the last ) Stellar Campout held in partnership with Ride Wild in November 2020 . Above : Taking her Stellar Moto Brand Stratosphere Dyneema armored jumpsuit for a ride .
Words by Joy Burgess Photos courtesy Stellar Moto Brand , Bad Beard , John Ryan Hebert , Sam Ray and Jessie Gentry
You hear the proverb ‘ necessity is the mother of invention ’ all the time , but Jenna Stellar ’ s case is particularly apropos .
Stellar , a Hollywood stylist and costume designer , tore up her knee badly in a motorcycle crash a few years back and spent months in recovery . But her rehab time wasn ’ t just spent thinking about style and wardrobe for Sunset Boulevard glitterati . While in physical therapy , Stellar rekindled a fire that ’ d been smoldering for years – her own women ’ s moto gear business , one that melded high-end style with advanced protection .
“ I ended up in the hospital and was pretty torn up ,” she told Thunder Press . “ Later , during physical therapy , I suddenly had all this time on my hands . I was pissed I hadn ’ t protected myself with better gear , and there wasn ’ t anything good out there in women ’ s gear . I ’ d thought about starting my own company for so long , and now I had the time and motivation to do it . It was really stupid to have chosen vanity over protecting myself , and I wanted to give women better options so they didn ’ t have to learn this lesson the way I did .”
The result was Stellar Moto Brand , which Stellar launched three years ago – though it took about a year and a half to get the business off the ground , with much of that time was spent researching and finding the best fabric technologies to create gear that would keep women safe .
“ I put it all together [ during that recovery period ],” Jenna told Thunder Press , “ the knowledge , patterns , design ideas , thoughts about what I – and other women – wanted to wear . I started researching the best technology , and for a year gathered everything I needed . People think [ motorcycling ’ s ] all fun and games … until they go down . I believe there ’ s a way to learn from other people ’ s suffering , and that ’ s the philosophy behind Stellar .”
That melding of style and top-shelf protection has yielded a unique and technical line of gear , one that ’ s resonated nicely with female riders over the last 18 months . Aside from stylish looks , Stellar uses some
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