Founded in 1949 by brother-sister duo Pat Starr and Amos Morrill, Coco Shop became known in Antigua for its colourful hand-drawn prints and simple cotton fashions inside their namesake storefronts. In 2017, the corporate closed its doors, but was revitalized in 2019 with the assistance of Latest York-based designer and fashion industry entrepreneur Taylor Simmons, who grew up visiting her grandparents on the island from a young age and held Coco Shop near her heart as a result of her family’s closer relationship with the founders.

Since relaunching Coco Shop in 2019, the designer and owner has stayed true to the founders’ vision by utilizing their vast assortment of original, hand-drawn prints and travel-friendly, easy-to-wear cotton designs while updating the road for today, with the assistance of the Antiguan community, through recent silhouettes and seasonal capsules.

For the summer 2023 season, Simmons sought to extend her offering of day-to-night silhouettes, matching sets and shorter-hemmed numbers in an array of energetic patterns starting from a geometrical mosaic motif to fish (as seen in her current resort collection, recolored in light blue) and coral prints. For example, an cute woven basket skirt (made up of sewn-together 1-inch cotton strips) within the playful light blue, green and white fish motif, or a brief with matching shirtdress within the stellar brown-and-white mosaic pattern. Other silhouettes throughout the line include midlength dresses with pockets, drop waists and shift silhouettes; a handful of minis and a button-back pouffed shirt. 

“The majority of the business has been ankle-length dresses, and while we’re twiddling with that, we’re also trying to seek out our short silhouettes for daytime,” Simmons said during a preview, adding the breezy line is entirely made up of textured and sheeted cottons. 

The Coco Shop summer capsule, priced $280 to $720, is about to launch Tuesday on the brand’s e-commerce.